Overview
- Shahid Adnan was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud, unauthorised computer access, and converting criminal property on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
- The scheme was uncovered in February 2023 when an LJMU computer‑forensics check on a student USB drive found files linking the device to Adnan’s tutoring business and spreadsheets containing student usernames and passwords.
- Investigators found evidence he used students’ passcodes to submit coursework and sit online exams for payment, and forensic accounting fixed the confirmed benefit from his offending at more than £300,000 for sentencing purposes.
- Police seized bank and PayPal balances, cash and two cars and say Adnan lived beyond declared means; prosecutors have set a timetable to recover proceeds and further Proceeds of Crime Act actions will follow.
- Authorities estimate the operation may have helped as many as 124 students across multiple universities and say the case shows how digital forensics and police cyber teams can expose large‑scale contract cheating that undermines academic standards.