4 international Lehigh University students expelled, charged over fake transcripts

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Four international Lehigh University students have been arrested and expelled, accused of faking transcripts to get into the school.

Evans Oppong, Cyrilstan Sowah-Nai, Otis Opoku and Henry Dabuo are facing forgery and theft of services charges.

An affidavit says one of their brothers was recently admitted to the school, but his age raised alarms, prompting university officials to take a closer look at his application, WFMZ-TV reported.

They say his transcript had "concerning formats, markings, and spelling errors," leading them to question its validity and rescind his admission.

Court paperwork says the school then looked back at four students' applications, who mentioned each other within them.

Police say with the help of the U.S. Department of State, the university discovered more fake transcripts.

The four had each already received anywhere from $120,000 to $212,000 in financial aid.

Lehigh released a statement, saying fraud "impacts the integrity of the admissions process and, if left unaddressed, the university's ability to create opportunities for qualified students."

It added it remains committed to attracting students from across the globe and that admissions processes are continuously reviewed and enhanced.