'Tutor' Who Took Online Tests for 124 Students Jailed for Three Years (bbc.com)
(Monday June 22, 2026 @03:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the cheaters-never-prosper dept.)
- Reference: 0184024652
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/06/22/0255256/tutor-who-took-online-tests-for-124-students-jailed-for-three-years
- Source link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq810d7gpkgo
A private tutor who charged money to take dozens of exams for students and submit coursework for them "has been jailed for three years," [1]reports the BBC , "after his scam earned him £300,000."
> Shahid Adnan completed assignments and online tests for more than 120 students at Liverpool John Moore's University, the Crown Prosecution Service said. The 43-year-old, of Lysander Close, Liverpool, was caught in February 2023 after a student handed in a USB drive containing suspicious coursework to Dr Tom Berry of the university's school of computer science and mathematics. Berry's checks revealed the drive was used by Adnan with documents linked to a company he set up called Study Sharp Ltd.
>
> Excel spreadsheets containing details of other students, their study modules, coursework due dates, and their personal login credentials were also found. Further checks confirmed suspicions that Adnan was accessing the university's network to submit fraudulent work and sit examinations on behalf of students... [I]nvestigations led police to believe Adnan may have been doing work for 124 students at universities all over the world.
The BBC also [2]interviewed detective sergeant Adam Dagnall from Merseyside Police's cybercrime unit, who said Adnan was living a lavish lifestyle "well beyond" his stated occupations as a private tutor and Amazon delivery driver. His bank accounts held more than £2m ($2,645,100 USD).
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq810d7gpkgo
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy3lgz1x3o
> Shahid Adnan completed assignments and online tests for more than 120 students at Liverpool John Moore's University, the Crown Prosecution Service said. The 43-year-old, of Lysander Close, Liverpool, was caught in February 2023 after a student handed in a USB drive containing suspicious coursework to Dr Tom Berry of the university's school of computer science and mathematics. Berry's checks revealed the drive was used by Adnan with documents linked to a company he set up called Study Sharp Ltd.
>
> Excel spreadsheets containing details of other students, their study modules, coursework due dates, and their personal login credentials were also found. Further checks confirmed suspicions that Adnan was accessing the university's network to submit fraudulent work and sit examinations on behalf of students... [I]nvestigations led police to believe Adnan may have been doing work for 124 students at universities all over the world.
The BBC also [2]interviewed detective sergeant Adam Dagnall from Merseyside Police's cybercrime unit, who said Adnan was living a lavish lifestyle "well beyond" his stated occupations as a private tutor and Amazon delivery driver. His bank accounts held more than £2m ($2,645,100 USD).
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq810d7gpkgo
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy3lgz1x3o
Crime details (Score:2)
by tiananmen tank man ( 979067 )
So he got 3 years for logging in to a computer system with credentials that weren't his and money laundering
Re: (Score:2)
by martin-boundary ( 547041 )
If only he had lived in the US, he could have appealed to the Supreme Court!
Does this mean Sam Altman's going to prison? (Score:3)
I'll say the obvious: because we all know that ChatGPT is used constantly for cheating. I'm no fan of this paid cheater, but 3 years of prison for that is stupid. Tax evasion? Sure. Scam? Fuck no. Sounds like the university be bad at Englishing.
Re: (Score:2)
Not really, cheating on exams can tarnish academic integrity and is a menace to society at large. Do you want to have heart surgery performed by someone who didn't know their shit, and cheated on their exams? Do you want to drive over a bridge design by a guy who doesn't understand structural analysis, or be represented by someone who faked their way through law school?
Besides which academic reputation is worth a lot to university and colleges, and they know it. If they didn't stomp on this now their rep
Re: (Score:1)
Have you watched the TV series "The Audacity" wherein the Silicon Valley founder protagonist tells his daughter about getting into Stanford, "Cheaters don't lose and losers don't cheat"?
Re: (Score:3)
Was this written by AI? What tripe. Heart surgeons? Structural engineers? You sound like a cliche machine. Please, find me an example of this fantasy. Spend the tokens, bitch. Academic honesty is a largely an individual decision. If you catch students, fail them. Strip their degrees in more extreme cases. But sending this guy to jail as a scammer? Laughable. He gave people what they paid for. And you totally misunderstand the post. This guy is nothing compared to what happens daily on ChatGPT a
Re: (Score:2)
> But sending this guy to jail as a scammer? Laughable. He gave people what they paid for.
The fraud charge sounds like it was defrauding the university rather than his clients. The CPS press release which all of the media reports seem to be based on doesn't break down the sentencing among the three charges of fraud by false representation, accessing a computer system without authorisation, and money laundering. The case doesn't appear to be available (yet?) at caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Why is a person at university? (Score:3)
The ideal answer is that the person is really interested in the subject they are studying and want to know a lot more.
The honest answer is that society forces them to go to university as the next step towards a high paying job. The fact that it's also a chance to PARTY is probably also significant!
For the person whose only motivation is the latter, then the logic of cheating is overwhelming; they don't really believe that they need the stuff they are being taught, so why bother to play nicely?
The AI challen
Re: (Score:2)
> [...] Do you want to have heart surgery performed by someone who didn't know their shit, and cheated on their exams? Do you want to drive over a bridge design by a guy who doesn't understand structural analysis, or be represented by someone who faked their way through law school? [...]
Indeed. It is a well known 'secret' that other student(s) took Trumps' finals in his place, paid for by his father. The world would be a much better place if this particular scam hadn't happened. Here on finals they check your identity papers (real ones, not an easily fakeable driver's license).
Re: (Score:2)
> I'll say the obvious: because we all know that ChatGPT is used constantly for cheating. I'm no fan of this paid cheater, but 3 years of prison for that is stupid. Tax evasion? Sure. Scam? Fuck no. Sounds like the university be bad at Englishing.
I don’t recall being allowed to carry my computer and internet connection, into the secure exam room. Ever.
The problem, isn’t cheating. The problem, is being too stupid to know when to Flunk A Child Behind when they earned it AND being too corrupt to prevent cheating.