A former student at Cornell University has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of student loan fraud, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

Cavya Chandra, 26, of Carmel, Ind., admitted she obtained admission to – and attended – three universities between 2008 and 2014 by forging various documents, including academic transcripts and letters of recommendation.

The charge to which Chandra pleaded guilty relates to her fraudulent acceptance of federal student loan money while attending Cornell, but her written plea agreement lays out Chandra’s broader pattern of defrauding several universities, including Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The charge filed against Chandra carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and a term of supervised release of up to one year. Chandra will be sentenced at a date not yet scheduled by United States Magistrate Judge David E. Peebles.

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A plea agreement will recommend Judge Peebles impose a sentence of five years of probation and to abide by an existing repayment agreement with Cornell University requiring her to pay an outstanding financial aid balance of $70,145.81, among other conditions.

Chandra was denied admittance to the freshman class at Cornell in 2008, and then applied to Carnegie Melon using a forged letter of recommendation from a high school teacher. Carnegie Mellon accepted Chandra’s application and admitted her as a student in fall 2009.

During her second semester at Carnegie Melon in 2010, Chandra applied for admission to Cornell as a transfer student with a forged transcript showing a perfect 4.0 Qualified Point Average in her one semester at Carnegie Mellon. Chandra’s actual QPA was 2.79. She also inflated her high school grades and forged another letter of recommendation.

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Cornell admitted Chandra as a transfer student for the fall 2010 semester. While enrolled at Cornell, Chandra received more than $130,000 in financial aid, much of which was federal direct student loan money provided by the United States Department of Education. Cornell also provided tens of thousands of dollars in grant assistance to Chandra during her time as a student at Cornell.

Chandra then applied for medical school through the American Medical College Application Service in 2013 with forged transcripts from Carnegie Mellon and from Cornell.

AMCAS reported to Cornell it suspected Chandra had submitted a fraudulent transcript, and Cornell launched an internal investigation, during which it uncovered Chandra’s previous admissions fraud. Chandra admitted that she had falsified information in her transfer application when confronted by a school official, and Cornell expelled Chandra in November 2013.

Following her expulsion from Cornell, Chandra applied for admission as a transfer student to IUPUI, again submitting forged copies of her Carnegie Mellon and Cornell transcripts. Chandra was admitted and received credit for a number of classes she did not actually take or pass at Cornell.

IUPUI conferred a bachelor’s degree on Chandra in 2015. When Chandra’s fraud came to light the following year, IUPUI rescinded Chandra’s degree.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education-Office of Inspector General with assistance from Cornell University, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.

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