This may be one of the biggest fake degrees cases ever . . .

. . . not in terms of the number of people, but in terms of the amazing high-level frauds by just one guy, Anoop Shankar, M.D., Ph.D.

* He held a million-dollar endowed chair at West Virginia U's new (2012) School of Public Health
* He received millions of dollars in US federal grants
* He was granted the very rare 0-1 "genius visa" to the US, reserved for highest-level scholars
* He claimed to be a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.
* He claimed an MD from one of the best medical schools in the world, the All-India Institute of Medicine, and a Ph.D. from the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi University.
* He published more than major papers in juried journals (like the Journal of the American Medical Association).

Thanks to extremely impressive investigation by NBC news, it turns out that everything is fake. Even his MD (from a 3rd rate Indian medical school) was based on a dissertation that he copied 100% from a 20-year-old paper. None of his journal papers was written by him. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons never heard of him. All of his claimed papers were either non-existent or written by others. His research findings were fabricated. Etc. etc. etc.

A final matter that is alarming. When WVU fired him, they kept everything secret . . . and still are . . . and a short time later, Shankar was hired for another prestigious position by another major university.

The long and very detailed NBC story is here: http://tinyurl.com/njt2p7y and good for them!

 

A great read, and a dark tale that includes the classic "the cover-up is worse than the crime" elements. “Professor Shankar, your work is fascinating!” Indeed, it is.