Judge finds that Harvard fraudster Adam Wheeler violated his probation
A Middlesex Superior Court judge today found Adam Wheeler, the young man who was convicted of faking his way into Harvard, in violation of his probation for sending a resume listing himself as a Harvard grad to a Somerville company in September.
[fragment number=0]But Judge Diane Kottmyer ordered a 40-day mental evaluation for Wheeler before she decides what penalty he will face.
“It appears that Mr. Wheeler suffers from a mental illness and the conduct for which he stands convicted is a product of that mental illness,’’ Kottmyer said.
Prosecutors said Wheeler sent a resume and cover letter to the company in September saying that he went to Harvard in 2007 and graduated in 2009 with an English degree and was awarded a Rockefeller scholarship.
Unfortunately for Wheeler, the person at the company who received the email had gone to Harvard and lived in the same residential dorm that he had (though it wasn’t clear if it was at the same time.) Familiar with Wheeler’s case, the person forwarded the email to Harvard, which then brought it to the attention of the authorities.
Defense attorney Steven Sussman said his client had recently had financial hardships and that that may have driven him to exaggerate his achievements again.
The Delaware man was sentenced last year to 2 ½ years in jail and 10 years of probation on identity fraud and other charges. He served a month in jail. His sentence was suspended, provided that he complied with probation terms, which included not representing himself as someone who went to Harvard or graduated the school.
Kottmyer set another hearing in the case for Dec. 23.
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