Indian-American in US university admission scam

An Indian-American top trustee of an US university has been accused along with other board members of using their influence in getting more than 800 students admitted into the institution.

University of Illinois Board of Trustee chairman Niranjan Shah denied the charges when questioned by the Illinois Admissions Review Commission which is looking into whether the trustees used their influence to get the under-qualified applicants accepted into the University.

The Indian born businessman said he was not aware that well-connected applicants were being given preferential treatment.

He also said he was not pressurised by officials to support certain applicants.

"I never wanted anyone to feel obliged to do anything special for any applicant about whom I sought review," he told the panel.

University records and e-mails show that Shah pushed at least nine students during the past three years.

In an e-mail sent by Shah to University Chancellor Richard Herman, he has mentioned a list of students for consideration and ended the e-mail by saying he would "sincerely appreciate anything you (Herman) can do to assist in a favorable outcome for these individuals".

When questioned about the emails, Shah said he was "embarrassed" but said his secretary wrote most of the emails. "She put the words together and I did not check," he said.

The University has been at the midst of a scandal where under-qualified applicants have been admitted as students under pressure from university trustees and former controversial governor Rod Blagojevich.

The Chicago Tribune had reported in May that the school maintained a special 'Category I' and more than 800 undergraduate applicants received special consideration between 2003 and 2008 after they were placed in the list reserved for those with powerful patrons.

Reading from a prepared statement during his testimony, Shah said he did not know about special Category I. He said he had forwarded inquiries about applicants to administrators since he was told to do so when he first joined the board in 2003.

Then-president James Stukel told Shah to forward any admissions requests he received. "If he had told me not to do that, or that there was a policy against it ... I would have followed his instructions.

Unfortunately, I did not get that advice," he said.

The review commission was formed by Governor Pat Quinn to investigate admission irregularities and how clout was used to admit applicants at the premier university.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that in 2007, Shah pushed the university to hire his future son-in-law Maarten de Jeu in $115,000 dollar job at the school's division of Business and Industry Services. Shah also has been under scrutiny for admission of two relatives to the university's law school.