A Nigerian-born naturalised United States citizen and former university professor, Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for orchestrating a five-year student financial aid fraud scheme in Texas.
Finnih, 43, of Richmond, Texas, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term. He pleaded guilty in March to theft of government funds, fraud, unlawful use or transfer of identity documents and aggravated identity theft.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Finnih submitted more than 100 fraudulent financial aid applications using the identities of individuals presented as students at colleges and universities across Texas. He used their personal information to submit applications and promissory notes, while controlling the addresses, phone numbers and email accounts used to receive communications from schools and the Department of Education.
The fraudulent applications sought more than $1.3 million in grants and loans, of which $921,189.08 was disbursed. Authorities said some victims were left with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt placed in their names, affecting their credit and ability to enrol in legitimate educational programmes.
The court also heard that Finnih possessed false identity documents and, in some cases, altered the names of female “straw students” to male versions while retaining their correct Social Security numbers and dates of birth. He was also accused of attempting to have financial aid payments unfrozen after a college flagged fraudulent transcripts.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Lone Star College Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Finnih was allowed to remain on bond and is expected to surrender voluntarily to a federal prison facility to be designated.
