Nigerian professor jailed six years in US over $1.3m student aid fraud

A US court has sentenced Nigerian professor Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih to 78 months in prison for orchestrating a years-long scheme involving fraudulent student financial aid applications and identity theft.

According to Peoples Gazette, Finnih, 43, a naturalised Nigerian and former adjunct professor at Texas Southern University, pleaded guilty in March to theft of government funds, fraud, unlawful use or transfer of identity documents and aggravated identity theft.

The US Department of Justice said Finnih submitted more than 100 fraudulent financial aid applications over five years, using stolen identities to seek more than $1.3m in grants and loans, of which $921,189.08 was disbursed.

“The court heard how Finnih used false identities, transcripts, UPS boxes, and bank accounts to carry out the scheme, leaving victims with student loan debt that damaged their credit and hindered legitimate school enrollment,” the DOJ said.

Prosecutors said Finnih directed refunds to addresses and bank accounts he controlled, leaving some victims with tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent student debt.

US Attorney Aaron Reitz said, “This fraudster will now suffer the consequences of his manipulative, deceitful, un-American crimes.”

Finnih will serve three years of supervised release after prison and risks denaturalisation and deportation.