BOSTON, May 18 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts prosecutor has accused a Delaware man of plagiarism and fabricating an academic record to gain admission to Harvard University.
Adam Wheeler, 23, of Delaware, is charged with 20 counts including larceny, identity fraud, falsifying an endorsement and pretending to hold a degree, Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone said.
Wheeler's fabrications were exposed after he submitted applications and references for Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships while enrolled at Harvard in 2009, CNN reported Tuesday.
The Harvard professor reviewing his application for one of the scholarships noticed similarities between his work and that of another professor.
University officials discovered Wheeler had fabricated his world-class academic credentials and had previously been suspended from a college in Maine for academic dishonesty.
Leone said Wheeler used plagiarized submissions to win two academic prizes and a research grant totaling $14,000 while attending Harvard.
He also received more than $31,000 in financial aid from the school.
