Feds say Arizona State University student cheated to get into school
May 22, 2017, 2:36 PM | Updated: 9:36 pm
(Facebook/Arizona State University)
(Facebook/Arizona State University)
PHOENIX — An Arizona State University student from China has been accused of cheating to gain entry into the school, a lawsuit said.
The suit filed earlier this month by the Department of Homeland Security alleged Xiaomeng Cheng used a test-taking scheme to pass an English proficiency test after failing at least three times.
The lawsuit alleged that Cheng — an accounting student at ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business, according to the Phoenix New Times — paid another Chinese student, Yue Wang, $1,000 to take it for her. Wang passed.
The Test of English as a Foreign Language is used at more than 9,000 schools in the United States. A passing grade is required for international students to receive a student visa and for entry into most schools.
Test-takers are photographed prior to the exam. The lawsuit said the test-takers would take a paying student’s passport and information to fool testing centers.
The lawsuit said the scheme was uncovered after another student, identified only as YY, was caught taking the test for someone else. YY told investigators Wang, a student at the Hult International Business School in Cambridge, Mass., had offered to pay her $900 for a passing grade on the test.
Wang told investigators she had been paid to take the test by at least two others. Photo evidence allegedly confirmed that claim.
The lawsuit recommended Cheng should face one count of felony conspiracy.
