Shahid Adnan, a private tutor, has been sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to orchestrating an extensive cheating operation that involved more than 120 students at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The 43-year-old, who offered his services to complete coursework and online examinations, charged individual students as much as £14,000 for his illicit assistance, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Merseyside Police revealed that Adnan had accumulated over £2 million across several bank accounts and was leading a luxurious lifestyle at the time his deception was brought to light. The intricate scam, which authorities estimate generated at least £300,000, ultimately unravelled thanks to the vigilance of an LJMU lecturer.
Detective Sergeant Adam Dagnall from Merseyside Police's cyber dependant crime unit explained that Dr. Tom Berry, from LJMU's school of computer science and mathematics, was instrumental in exposing the fraud. Dr. Berry discovered incriminating evidence on a USB drive, which inadvertently contained a folder with details of other students, their coursework, examination dates, and even monetary values, alongside personal login credentials. This crucial discovery led Dr. Berry to alert detectives.
Further investigation by officers, based on Dr. Berry's initial findings and shared IP addresses used for submitting multiple student assignments, confirmed Adnan's activities. Police confirmed that Adnan was logging into student accounts to complete assessments, with evidence of payments from students to his company, Study Sharp Ltd. While the current conviction relates to LJMU students, police suspect Adnan may have extended his services to students at other UK universities.
The scale of Adnan's illicit earnings became apparent through the discovery of three bank accounts and a trading account, holding significant sums: one Barclays account contained £1,505,156, two Lloyds accounts held £600,590 and £245,279 respectively, and a PayPal account had £110,214. Officers also found cash linked to the fraud. Det Sgt Dagnall described this as one of the rarest cases he had ever investigated, commending Dr. Berry's diligence in uncovering the fraud. Proceedings are now underway to recover Adnan's assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
A spokesperson for LJMU reiterated the university's commitment to academic integrity, stating that all forms of academic dishonesty are taken very seriously. They affirmed that safeguards are continually reviewed to ensure the integrity of assessment processes, and students are expected to adhere to the ethical values of the academic community.