Massachusetts, US: Student Who Tricked Harvard is Sentenced to Prison

The Associated Press
Sun, 25 Dec 2011 05:57 UTC

© AP Photo

Adam Wheeler

A Delaware man who faked his way into Harvard has been sentenced to a year in prison for violating his probation by putting the university on his resume.

A probation department spokeswoman says Adam Wheeler was sentenced Friday at Middlesex Superior Court.

Prosecutors say the 25-year-old Wheeler got into Harvard and obtained about $45,000 in financial aid by falsely claiming he attended elite schools, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Last year, he was convicted of identity fraud and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and 10 years' probation. The Milton, Del., man served a month in jail awaiting trial, and the remainder of his sentence was suspended.

His attorney acknowledged that Wheeler violated probation by representing himself as a Harvard graduate. But he said it was due to financial pressure after losing his job.