US court jails Nigerian-born ex-lecturer over $1.3m student aid fraud

A Nigerian-born naturalised US citizen, Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for orchestrating a five-year scheme to fraudulently obtain student financial aid. Finnih, 43, of Richmond, Texas, pleaded guilty to theft of government funds, fraud, unlawful use or transfer of identity documents, and aggravated identity theft.

The fraud involved submitting over 100 fraudulent financial aid applications using false identities, resulting in more than $1.3 million in grants and loans, of which $921,189.08 was disbursed. US Attorney Aaron Reitz emphasized that such fraud contributes to the financial burden of higher education and highlighted Finnih's deceitful actions.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.