This story is part of a series investigating four former students’ arrests, admissions and Visa protocols, and the impact the situation has had on the campus community and the future of Lehigh’s international student population.
As Lehigh continues to expand its international recruitment efforts with the goal of continuing to diversify its student body, anxiety among the international community is still lingering months after the Sept. 9 arrest of four former students from Ghana.
The students, who were accused of allegedly submitting fraudulent documents during their admissions processes, had their enrollment status rescinded upon discovery.
The incident has raised concern regarding the vulnerabilities international applicants face, especially those who rely on translation services or third-party agencies, similar to the services used by the former students.
Meanwhile, the subsequent rescission of the four former students’ Visas has sparked fears about immigration consequences and the potential for wrongful accusations.
Nationwide, reports show that international student enrollment reached an all-time high of 1.1 million students for the 2023-24 academic year. For 2024-25, 989 international students from 91 countries were enrolled at Lehigh, according to the 2024 International Students and Scholars Report.
Lehigh, like many colleges and universities in the United States, boasts international education and programming as a key component of the university’s blueprint. But this commitment has come under scrutiny.
When the fall semester began, 21 students from Ghana were enrolled — 10 undergraduate and 11 graduate. Now, only six of the Ghanaian undergraduate students remain.
The admissions of Henry Dabuo, Otis Opoku, Evans Oppong and Cyrilstan Nomobon Sowah-Nai were rescinded after internal investigations revealed what the institution alleges amounted evidence of serious fraud that was revealed during a review of applications, according to an email sent to The Brown and White from University Communications.
Soon after the arrests, friends of the students created and shared a GoFundMe page, which stated donations would be used to file for bail reductions, fund commissary and basic needs, as well as secure evidence for a bail review and pay lawyer fees.
“These are not criminals,” the page read. “They are facing severe challenges and need our help now. Please support them in this critical time.”
The creators raised $9,075 before it was shut down and replaced with a new GoFundMe due to a change in ownership of the page. The second page accrued $13,093.
In addition to concerned friends, the campus community has sought answers from the university, questioning why the students’ applications were investigated in the first place, what concrete evidence was found, whether the university was aware of the use of a third party to translate their transcripts and how the university deduced that the students were aware of transcript alterations, among other things.
According to the affidavits, with help from the Department of State, the original transcripts of Jude Dabouo, Henry Dabuo’s brother and a Ghanaian international student applicant, were obtained.
Alleged discrepancies between the brothers’ transcripts prompted the university to investigate Henry Dabuo, who was about to begin his second year at Lehigh.
“The relationships that were described in application materials was what led us to expand the evaluation,” said Nathan Urban, Lehigh’s provost and senior vice president.
According to the affidavits, the Admissions Office found the same markings, format and spelling errors in Henry Dabuo’s transcript, as well as mention of the other three former students in Dabuo’s Common Application.
“That kind of further due diligence is what led us to identify the fraudulent creation that was provided by the group of students from Ghana,” Urban said.
Lehigh’s administration worked with the Lehigh University Police Department to further investigate its initial findings. Sgt. Kyle Fisher said in the rare instances when students are involved in serious crimes, the police department meets with senior leadership to determine the best solution.
Fisher said this ensures LUPD doesn’t overstep as a private police department.
“I think that their input helps us to continue our mission, which is, at the end of the day, the success of the students,” Fisher said.
Political science professor Holona Ochs, who has developed close relationships with many international students at Lehigh, said she challenged the protocols when the arrests were initially made and met with LUPD Chief Jason Schiffer to discuss her opinions.
LUPD declined to comment on anything related to this case after the initial arrests, specifically citing that the investigation is ongoing.
Fisher agreed to discuss protocols for cases such as this in general, but he did not comment specifically on this case.
Ochs said she explained to Schiffer the trauma the arrests are causing people of color, and she said he acknowledged her concern. However, Ochs said he informed her there isn’t room to change, and the policy is out of his control.
Schiffer was contacted for comment in April but said he could not provide any as this is an open and ongoing case.
Urban said after the arrests, the administration and LUPD began working with the District Attorney’s office.
“Given the severity of the crime (and) given the monetary loss associated with it, we felt it was important to involve the district attorney,” Urban said.
Bail for Dabuo, Opoku, Oppong and Sowah-Nai was set at $100,000 each, according to court records, and Fisher said typical bail for higher-level fraud cases can range anywhere between $25,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He said when deciding the bail amount, the most important factor for a judge to consider is the seriousness of the crime.
Evan Hughes, a defense attorney representing Dabuo, Opoku and Oppong, said the students’ bail was “exorbitantly” high.
Hughes said judges set bail to ensure someone’s appearance at court, and they consider factors of flight risk, prior allegations of violence, allegations of violence within the case and ties to the community.
“Where you currently live and where you’re from — one could argue ties to the Lehigh community is a strong tie,” he said. “But since the university severed ties, it could be argued (the students) don’t have ties.”
Ochs said she wrote a letter to Lehigh administrators demanding that the charges be dropped immediately. Urban agreed to meet with her and 10 to 15 other faculty members, who were representing hundreds of other faculty, to talk about the case.
She said Urban refused to drop the charges at that time but said the administration would “look into it.”
“Based on my understanding of the conversation, no one was interested in dropping the charges,” Ochs said. “No one with power was amenable to dropping the charges. It wasn’t pursued as a viable option.”
She said the faculty who had attended the meeting received an email a few days later saying they had looked into it and would not be dropping the charges.
As the cases continue to progress, Urban said Lehigh’s role in the investigation is complete, aside from witness testimonies.
Ochs said she attended the preliminary hearing for Dabao, Opoku and Oppong, as well as the third hearing for these three former students, and she remembers the details from the trial. She said the trial was standing-room only, and the courtroom was full.
“Those images are seared into my mind,” Ochs said. “It was all students, and (there were) leaders of the Baptist Church who have since organized to support these young men and their families.”
The university sent an email signed by Katherine Lavinder, interim vice president for student affairs; Donald Outing, vice president for equity and community; Cheryl Matherly, vice president and vice provost for international affairs; Peter Zeitler, Lehigh Faculty Senate chair; Jenna Lay, Lehigh Faculty Senate vice-chair; and members of the Lehigh Faculty Senate to the campus community on Oct. 30 to address these concerns and provide resources for students.
The email stated: “The details of these cases have no bearing on our commitment to supporting international students, scholars and colleagues, who are an essential part of our Lehigh community.”
Urban said the university has tried to reach out to various international and underrepresented student groups to clarify the situation, as well as reassure them of its commitment to bringing talented students from across the world and supporting their success on campus.
“I understand why it is that people might look at this and wonder about our thinking, but I just want to say that we are committed,” Urban said.
Another perturbation that arose among the campus community was the academic and social standing of the former students. The creator of the GoFundMe page wrote that all four former students were Dean’s List recipients and active campus community members.
According to Lehigh Student Affairs, Opoku and Oppong were placed on Lehigh’s Dean’s List — meaning they earned GPAs of 3.6 or higher — for the fall 2023 and spring 2024 semesters.
Urban said the academic standing and accomplishments of the former students weren’t a consideration when suspicions of fraud initially materialized. He said basing the admissions decision on the application information provided is the only practice fair to all potential students.
“If you got in inappropriately, but now you’re doing well, you’re doing OK, or you’re involved in the university (or) contributing to the university in a certain way, that doesn’t erase the action (you) took,” Urban said.
He said he wished this situation hadn’t occurred, but he said the response was important to the integrity of the admissions process.
“If we can’t say with high confidence that the students who are here on this campus are getting here the right way, that we’re doing the right things in order to identify and select students as part of this class, then, in some ways, it calls into question everyone’s right to be here,” Urban said.
Urban wrote that the university stands by the decision to revoke admissions based on the information they have.
“Our investigation resulted in clear evidence that the students were admitted based on false information,” he wrote. “This evidence was sufficient to trigger a revocation of the admissions decision. A criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, a standard far different from the standards used internally in admissions decisions, student conduct and other proceedings.”
He said he thinks it’s important for Lehigh to be a place that attracts talented and motivated students from across the country and the world.
“Nonetheless, it’s also critical that we have an ability to be confident about the credentials — academic credentials — of students who apply and the financial situation of students (who seek) financial aid,” Urban said. “That’s compromised because of situations like this, in which there’s misinformation and fraudulent information provided.”
Ochs said Lehigh is in this position because of expanded investments, and now it is protective of those investments.
“Lehigh has worked really hard to make extra money to create an environment (for) everybody from anywhere and that they have the resources to succeed, no matter where they came from,” Ochs said.
Urban said financial aid for international students has been increasing at Lehigh, and in the case of Dabuo, Opoku, Oppong and Sowah-Nai, the cumulative dollar value of the “inappropriately awarded” financial aid is approximately $600,000.
The Admissions Office wrote that Lehigh doesn’t limit its need‐based financial assistance to non-U.S. students who have demonstrated financial need, and it works to provide financial aid to as many students as possible.
“For the 2024-25 academic year, more than 25% of admitted students were awarded merit scholarships of $15,000 or more annually, and more than 50% of the current student body receives some form of financial aid,” the office wrote.
Urban said considering the former students’ financial statuses, the university will not be seeking restitution.
Ochs said she finds it interesting that the university isn’t seeking any money from the families.
“This is not real money. This is budget money,” she said. “This is money that was taken from an investment program, so people receiving it dishonestly does violate the credibility of the progress of Lehigh, and (Lehigh) is not wrong by producing this boundary. I’m just saying I think we’re policing it a little too heavily.”
In a follow-up interview via email, Urban wrote that the funding provided to the four former students was part of the university’s financial aid budget and is “absolutely real.”
“Had these funds not been awarded based on fraudulent application materials, other students could have received additional financial aid,” he wrote.
Lehigh’s administration wrote in its email to the campus community that it will continue to recruit internationally and provide financial assistance based on need and merit.
Despite some reassurances and the completion of application reviews, Ochs said international students feel uneasy on campus.
“The last two weeks, I have had coffees with three international students, who said some (international students) said they’re leaving immediately because they’re afraid to be here,” Ochs said. “Many of them said they won’t come back.”
She said international students who used third-party agencies to translate and/or send materials for their applications are concerned about unknown discrepancies in their applications.
“They are afraid of getting arrested in the middle of the night,” Ochs said.
Urban wrote that multiple meetings with international students have been held, and invitations for some were extended to small groups and others were open to the entire international student community.
He also wrote that his office has communicated the circumstances of these cases publicly and has shared information to the community in an effort to reassure students.
Ochs said she’s aware that administration has held at least one meeting in an effort to quell student fears, but fears remain.
“There’s (a) real danger here of us losing the international students who contribute to our intellectual community,” Ochs said.
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