A Greenwich man was sentenced to four years in federal prison Thursday for using stolen identities and credit card information to fraudulently obtain tuition refunds from the University of Connecticut, federal prosecutors said.
A Greenwich man was sentenced to four years in federal prison Thursday for using stolen identities and credit card information to fraudulently obtain tuition refunds from the University of Connecticut, federal prosecutors said.
Dickson Alorwornu, 36, a Ghanaian national, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 48 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release following his October 2024 conviction on two counts of wire fraud.
According to evidence presented at trial, Alorwornu used stolen identities in December 2017 to submit two non-degree student applications to UConn. He then used credit card information stolen from three victims to deposit more than $62,000 into the two student accounts.
After withdrawing from the courses in early 2018, Alorwornu requested refunds from the university, which transferred about $46,000 to bank accounts he controlled.
Investigators also found that email accounts Alorwornu used in the UConn scheme were used to defraud other universities of more than $500,000.
Alorwornu has a prior criminal history that includes a 2017 New York conviction for using stolen credit cards and other individuals’ personal identifying information.
He was arrested Feb. 1, 2023, and a jury found him guilty in October 2024. Alorwornu, who has been released on a $50,000 bond, is required to report to prison April 20.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the UConn Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward Chang and Elena Coronado, according to U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan's office.
