| Adam Wheeler fraud case | |
|---|---|
| Court | Massachusetts District Court |
| Full case name | Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Adam B. Wheeler |
| Decided | December 16, 2010 |
| Verdict | Guilty (plea) on all 20 counts |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Diane M. Kottmyer |
| Keywords | |
| Academic fraud, plagiarism, identity fraud | |
The Adam Wheeler fraud case was a 2010 criminal case in Massachusetts involving a former Harvard University student, who had fabricated his academic credentials to gain admission as a transfer student in 2007. Adam B. Wheeler forged transcripts, standardized test scores, and letters of recommendation, then continued plagiarizing coursework after enrollment. He defrauded the university of more than $45,000 in financial aid, grants, and academic prizes before a professor caught him plagiarizing a Rhodes Scholarship application in 2009. Wheeler pleaded guilty to 20 felony and misdemeanor charges in December 2010.
Wheeler grew up in Milton, Delaware, and attended Caesar Rodney High School. [1] He enrolled at Bowdoin College in Maine but was suspended during his sophomore year for plagiarism. [2] However, instead of serving the suspension, he decided to transfer to Harvard.
The contents to Wheeler's 2007 transfer application to Harvard were almost entirely fabricated. [3] He claimed to have graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover and claimed to have completed his freshman year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a perfect academic record. [1] Neither one of these claims was true. His application included forged transcripts from both institutions, a falsified SAT score report claiming a perfect 1600, and fabricated letters of recommendation that he attributed to MIT professors. [4] The names on the recommendation letters were actually those of Bowdoin faculty, who later said they had not written them and did not know Wheeler. [4]
Wheeler was admitted and placed in Kirkland House as a sophomore, concentrating in English. [4] He continued submitting plagiarized work throughout his time at Harvard. As a junior, he won the Hoopes Prize for a research project, the Sargent Prize for an essay on Shakespeare, and a Rockefeller grant for summer study at Oxford, all based on plagiarized material. [1] [5] In total, Wheeler obtained more than $45,000 in financial aid, grants, and prizes. [6]
Wheeler's fraud unraveled in September 2009, during his senior year, when he applied for Harvard's endorsement for the Rhodes Scholarship and Fulbright Scholarship. A professor reviewing his application recognized that the essay had been lifted from the published work of a colleague. [7] University officials opened a full review of Wheeler's file and found that none of his claimed credentials were genuine. [4] Wheeler did not attend his disciplinary hearing and returned to Delaware. [4]
Despite being caught and leaving Harvard, Wheeler submitted fraudulent transfer applications to Yale, Brown, Stanford University, and the Maritime Studies Program of Williams College. [1] He also applied for an internship at McLean Hospital using fake recommendations, including one falsely attributed to the Kirkland House dean who had first confronted him about the plagiarism. [2] Stanford and Williams accepted him before his parents, contacted by Yale's admissions office, learned the truth and intervened. [2]
Wheeler was indicted in May 2010 on 20 counts of larceny, identity fraud, falsifying an endorsement, and pretending to hold a degree. [4] On December 16, 2010, he pleaded guilty to all counts. [1] Associate Justice Diane M. Kottmyer sentenced him to ten years of probation, citing what she called his "compulsive" behavior and "lack of moral compass." [1] Wheeler was ordered to pay $45,806 in restitution to Harvard, continue psychological treatment, and refrain from representing himself as a Harvard student or graduate. A probation condition barred him from profiting from the case, such as by writing a book. [1]
In November 2011, Wheeler was arrested for violating probation after listing Harvard on his résumé while job hunting. [8] His attorney said Wheeler had lost a job and was under financial pressure. [8] He was held without bail and ordered to serve the remainder of his original suspended sentence. [8] [9]
The book Conning Harvard: Adam Wheeler, the Con Artist Who Faked His Way into the Ivy League (2012), by Julie Zauzmer and Xi Yu, chronicles the case. Both authors covered Wheeler's story for The Harvard Crimson . [5] [7] Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can , wrote the foreword, noting that technology had made document forgery far easier than in his era. [10]