LSU dental students accused of fraud

Two students at the Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Dentistry have been charged with financial aid fraud by a federal grand jury.

According to the indictment, Anthony Juan Walker, 27, and Obialunamma Agubuzu, 25, submitted fraudulent transcripts and Dental Admission Test (DAT) results to gain admission to the dental school that allowed them to receive more than $75,000 in federally subsidized financial aid.

If convicted, Walker and Agubuzu each face five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The school reviewed the student's admission files because of two incidents that took place earlier this year, according to a complaint filed in a U.S. district court by U.S. Department of Education investigator Marcus Culpepper.

A computer consultant in California called the school in March and informed officials that Michael Smith -- later identified as Walker -- contacted him to gain illegal access to a faculty member's computer account for test answers. In April, Walker was detained by LSU police at 3:30 a.m. when he was discovered kneeling outside a faculty member's door with a backpack containing burglary tools.

Because of these incidents, Katherine Muslow, LSU Health Sciences Center's senior counsel, decided to review Walker's and Agubuzu's admission files and found several irregularities, according to the complaint. The transcripts submitted to LSU were markedly different from the official ones Muslow received from the registrar's office at Cornell University.

The transcripts submitted by Walker and Agubuzu had incorrect courses and semesters of attendance and showed a false grade point average of 4.0.

The federal indictment charges the two students with submitting fraudulent college transcripts that falsely inflated their grade point averages and falsely indicated that they had taken the prerequisite science courses for dental school admission.

The indictment also alleges that Walker submitted American Dental Association DAT results that contained a false academic average of 24 with a 96.1 percentile when his actual test scores were lower. Agubuzu never took the DAT but submitted fraudulent test results with an academic average of 19 and a 77.6 percentile.

The students "knowingly" and "wilfully" obtained funds by "fraud and false statements" in that they applied to the school "relying on false and fraudulent college transcripts and Dental Admission test score reports," according to the indictment.

After admittance to the school, Walker received $40,072 and Agubuzu $35,572 in loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program.

The FFEL program provides low-interest loans to eligible students attending postsecondary institutions. These loans are made by private lenders and guaranteed by an agency that in turn is reinsured by the U.S. Department of Education in case the student borrower defaults. The LSU dental school is a participant in federal student financial programs administered by the Education Department.

In addition to the federal loans, Walker also received two private scholarships for $1,500 and $2,000, and Agubuzu received private scholarships of $2,000 and $6,000.

The complaint states that since these students misrepresented themselves during the admissions process, the private and federal financial aid they received was illegally obtained.

Culpepper also expresses concern that Walker and Agubuzu may "flee the United States given their ties to other countries and their lack of community ties to Louisiana."

A review of their files revealed that the students have ties to Santiago, Chile, and Nigeria. Walker's mother lives in Chile, and he has lived and worked there. Agubuzu's father is a retired Nigerian ambassador and her parents live in Nigeria.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten of the Eastern District of Louisiana has said that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Evans.

Phone calls to the LSU Health Sciences Center for comment were not returned.

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