A Nigerian-born former university professor in Texas has been sentenced to 78 months in a US federal prison for orchestrating a five-year scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $921,000 in student financial aid using other people’s identities.
Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih, 43, a naturalised US citizen and former adjunct professor at Texas Southern University, was sentenced by US District Judge Andrew Hanen, the US Department of Justice said on Friday.
Finnih pleaded guilty in March to theft of government funds, fraud, unlawful use or transfer of identity documents and aggravated identity theft. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.
The scheme targeted the US federal student aid system, with Finnih submitting more than 100 fraudulent applications over about five years using the identities of so-called straw students at colleges and universities across Texas.
The applications sought more than $1.3 million in grants and loans, of which $921,189.08 was eventually disbursed, according to the Justice Department.
Finnih used victims’ personal information to prepare and submit financial aid applications and master promissory notes in their names. He also controlled the mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email accounts used to receive communications from the US Department of Education and the schools.
The money was then directed to addresses or bank accounts under his control, or obtained through electronic transfers, cheques and prepaid debit cards, prosecutors said.
The fraud did not end with the government losing money. Some victims were left with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans that they had not taken out, damaging their credit and, in some cases, making it harder for them to enrol legitimately in college.
Authorities also found false identity documents, including temporary driving permits and identification cards, which prosecutors said Finnih intended to use or transfer as part of the scheme.
The case included an unusual tactic that helped him impersonate some of his alleged victims. Court proceedings heard that Finnih sometimes changed the names of female straw students to male versions while retaining their correct Social Security numbers and dates of birth.
In one instance, he contacted a community college after it flagged fraudulent transcripts and tried to have frozen financial aid payments released.
The case illustrates how federal education assistance can be exploited through identity theft even when institutions have systems designed to verify applicants. The US Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General investigated the scheme with the Lone Star College Police Department, US Marshals Service and US Postal Inspection Service.
Finnih’s sentence follows his guilty plea on March 20. He was allowed to remain on bond and will surrender voluntarily to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
US Attorney Aaron Reitz said student aid fraud ultimately increases the financial burden of higher education and damages victims whose identities are misused.
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