Indian student fakes his father’s death to get a full scholarship in the US. A Reddit post betrayed him | Trending

An Indian student who faked his father’s death to gain a full scholarship to an elite university in the United States is set to be expelled from the country. Aryan Anand, 19, is accused of falsifying admission and financial aid documents to study at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley News reports.

An anonymous confession by Anand on Reddit led to his web of lies being exposed.

“I built my life on lies”

According to ABC News, Anand falsified transcripts, financial statements and even his father’s death certificate to get a full scholarship to Lehigh. He confessed all of this in a Reddit post titled, “I built my life and career on lies.”

In his post, the 19-year-old explained how his entire application was faked so he could get accepted into an American college. “I have never told anyone how I got to where I am now. That would destroy everything I have,” he wrote, before explaining in detail how he cheated the system.

Anand not only forged documents and his father’s death certificate, but also created a fake email address to pose as his school principal.

Although he did not mention his name or that of the university, a Reddit moderator noticed his post, did some research and found out that Anand was a student at Lehigh.

“The defendant only had one other university in mind, Lehigh University, so the moderator reached out to Lehigh to inform them,” said Michael Weinert, Northampton County Assistant District Attorney.

The moderator alerted the university and passed on all evidence at his disposal.

Anand was arrested two months ago and pleaded guilty to forgery on June 12, 2024. His admission to Lehigh College was revoked.

Although he could face a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years for his crime, thanks to an agreement with the university, the 19-year-old only faces expulsion and deportation to India.