"This conviction of guilt on seven counts, including obstruction of justice and theft of government property, sends a strong signal to anyone who would seek to defraud this programme and divert taxpayer dollars intended for scientific research to personal use.

"I commend the U.S. Attorney's office for its strong support in this case," said Allison Lerner, NSF Inspector General.

According to Justice Department, Jha incorporated Amar Transportation Research and Consulting Inc (ATRC), and was its president and only director.

Trial evidence showed that Jha submitted funding proposals on behalf of ATRC to the STTR.

The stated purpose of Jha's proposed project was to enhance current models used by highway planners to optimize horizontal and vertical highway routes, and ultimately, to commercialize the result.

In his application for STTR funding, Jha listed himself as the principal investigator and the University of Maryland as the CRI.

Under the STTR, the primary employment of the principal investigator must be with the small business at the time of the award; and at least 40 per cent of the research must be performed by the small business and 30 pc by a collaborating research institution, as measured by the budget.

Jha also misrepresented the involvement of the University of Maryland in conducting research on the project and further misrepresented that he had obtained a $100,000 investment from a third party in order to qualify for matching funds from NSF, the Justice Department said.
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