New Details on Harvard Hoax I'm amazed. Reminds me very much of the movie Catch Me If You Can (based on a true story!). High points of the story: 1. His parents turned him in. YAY PARENTS! 2. The only reason why he got caught is that he kept on lying, and eventually one of them was checked. 3. Reporter: The prosecution is laying out some damning allegations, is there any truth to them? Defense Attorney: That's why we have judges and that's why we have juries. TRANSLATION Reporter: You know you are going to lose right? Defense Attorney: Yep. 4. He could get 50 years in prison for this Does anyone else think that this is excessive?
Text Resources From MyFox: Adam Wheeler, Former Harvard Student, Pleads Not Guilty to Identity Scam From an AP affiliate: AP News - starbulletin.com
Honestly this is wonderful news. I have a suspicion there is a ton of academic fraud and faked documents among students at Ivy League schools. Mark Zuckerberg (facebook CEO) was accused of some shady stuff as well some years back but either wasn't guilty or was smart enough not to get caught. And yes, hooray for the parents! "could get 50 years" sounds like an outside worst-case scenario. Yes, that's probably a little steep, but honestly i'd like to see the guy do 5 or 10. It's not like it was one little forgery or plagiarism; the guy is obviously a sociopath.
Incredible story, I am so surprised that Harvard did not catch on to the scam earlier than they did. I agree with the other posters, the parents did the right thing.
As a counselor, I must say this person seems like someone who has major issues. Not just that he is a jerk, but mental issues. I mean who would like about knowing how to speak Ol' English?
Exactly. Did you notice in the video how me kept parsing his lips? He exhibited some bizarre kinesics. The kids a nut job. It's as plain as day.
I believe this phony had reached Senior status at Harvard. So whether he did this by constant cheating and plagiarizing (etc.) and/or some element of smarts, it seems especially strange to me that he managed to pull it off for so long, course after course after course.
I feel a little embarrassed being in such stark contrast to so many wonderful posters so I'll try and word this carefully.... I would never rat out my kid in the face of a legal system that would even throw around a number like 50 years for this variety of crime. How would it benefit their son if he loses his whole life? I would not even like to see him serve five or ten. Honestly, I think the penalty should be largely monetary and monitoring (long term probation, basically). On top of that it's kind of hard not to admire somebody (on some level) who games the system (especially those uppity ivy league schools) this way... I guess I feel no sympathy for Harvard, I find it humorous that they got duped so badly and I don't see any reason to believe he is dangerous or desires harm on anybody. Sounds like the kind of kid who should ultimately have his prowess redirected to benefit the country (like in the movies where the hacker is let go to defend his country from the latest cyber-attack) I suppose I only favor incarceration in the most serious crimes, and I just have trouble seeing the real damage this caused. As for the odd behavior, I suspect that the footage was picked through to come up with the most interesting clips. Also, I would definitely lose my cool (even my sanity) in the face of threats of a 50 year prison term. Finally, in support of probation, curbing this kind of behavior does not require incarceration, probation would be enough to keep him from performing this kind of crime again. Hopefully the monetary fine would be enough punishment. I feel incarceration is a punishment in the 2ndary, but usually should almost only be used if there is true risk of further damage if the person walks the streets. ------------- I really want to apologize if this offends anybody, I have a long-standing reputation on these things so if this bothers you please try and find a way to give me the benefit of the doubt. I have no idea why I always see things so oddly.
