Harvard, Plan B
After two years of blending into campus life and racking up academic prizes and tens of thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships, Wheeler allegedly upped the ante: The 23-year-old senior applied for the prestigious Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships last fall using falsified credentials, including a fake transcript and work he plagiarized from a Harvard professor, said investigators.
He was wrong. Very, very wrong. But still, he almost pulled it off. And he managed to make it to his senior year at Harvard without anybody saying, "hey you dolt, you don't belong here." Come on, that's got to be worth something.
No, I'm not promoting the idea that being a con man, a liar, a cheat is a good way to live. But pulling this off is, well, impressive. I mean, it seems like he's got to have something on the ball, not to mention brass ones, to do what he's done.
The Suffolk County district attorney will have a field day with this prosecution.
Wheeler was indicted yesterday on charges of larceny and identity fraud, among other charges. If proven, the charges — he is also accused of falsely claiming to have attended MIT and Phillips Academy and coauthored several books — suggest a student on a fraudulent quest for advancement at all costs, and raise questions about how he nearly got away with it.
“This defendant seriously undermined the integrity of the competitive admissions process, compromised the reputation of some of the finest educators and educational institutions in the country, and cheated those who competed honestly for what he fraudulently received,’’ Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said in a statement.
What he's seriously undermined is the belief that this can't be done, that some kid who got tossed from Bowdoin College beat Harvard at its own game. Absolutely wrong. But some feat. If he gets time, anybody want to bet he won't find a way to become the warden before he's done?
Sorry for this post, but in an internet with more marketing scammers than anything else, this kid stands out. I'm so ashamed of myself.
Scott, this reminds me of a story in 2008 about a law student from my alma mater who used a degree purchased from a diploma mill on the Internet to get accepted into the program in 2006.
"More recently, Frederick submitted photocopies of transcripts in which her Osgoode Hall marks were inflated when she successfully applied for an articling job at the Bay St. law firm Wildeboer Dellelce, LLP."
Chutzpah, n'est pas?
Reply to this
Partner material.
Reply to this
Scott-
I love this post. I think that the guy did something amazing (albeit illegal). I work at a university and I cannot tell you how many times I have had to check on someone's transcripts and credentials before allowing them into a program. But this actually happens a lot. There have been quite a few students who brought me fake transcripts or ones that were bought instead of earned, and I can see how this guy made it as far as he did. It just goes to show that when applying for college, students can get away with just about everything.
Reply to this
Book deal.
Reply to this
TV reality show?
Reply to this
John Lovitz as host. "As I was just saying to my wife, Morgan Fairchild, yeah, that's the ticket..."
Reply to this
Morgan Fairchild? You are aging yourself.
Reply to this
Okay, fine: make it Hedy Lamarr, the inventor of phase shifting. (Really.) That's "Hedy", not "Hedley."
Reply to this
Not Hedley. Got it.
Reply to this