The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested Mercy Ojedeji, a Nigerian who forged academic transcripts to gain admission into the University of Missouri in St Louis County and for a tuition waiver of $49,000, stipends and other benefits.
Already, he has pleaded guilty to submitting forged immigration documents and wire fraud in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis as U.S. prosecutors stated that his intended scam exceeded $1 million.
He faces a 20-year prison sentence.
Investigations revealed that Ojedeji, 24, forged his transcripts, resume, letters of recommendation and an English Language proficiency report to supporT his application for a PhD programme in Chemistry.
After getting the admission in Fall 2023 and opening a bank account with the doctored credentials, Ojedeji started to skip classes. Also, he failed to carry out his Assistantship duties or even join a research group, inaction that eventually led to him being expelled from the school in February 2024 and the revocation of his student visa.
Ojedeji first got on the FBI searchlight after series of complaints from romance scam victims led the agents to his girlfriend’s house which was an address used by him to receive cash and gift cards.
FBI agents tracked 35 Express Mail packages sent to the address between December 19, 2023 and January 4, 2024.
Court issued a search warrant for the residence, and agents found that “a total of 193 packages were sent to the home through the Postal Services Express Mail, Federal Express, and United Parcel Service during Ojedeji’s relationship with the woman,” a recent statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.