A former dean of Temple University’s business school was sentenced Friday to a year and two months in prison in a scheme to falsely boost the school’s rankings.
Moshe Porat, 75, asked U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert to spare him a prison term so he could care for his ailing wife, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, but he did not apologize or acknowledge his crimes.
Pappert instead cited Porat’s lack of remorse and cited his obsession with driving the Fox School of Business to the top spot as “maniacal,” noting it caused real harm to master's students who thought they were paying substantial money for a top-ranked degree.
In a statement issued Friday, Temple said it respects "the justice system and the judge’s sentencing decision.”
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Porat was convicted in November of federal conspiracy and wire fraud charges.
Prosecutors have said he boosted the university’s online MBA program to the top spot on the U.S. News & World Report rankings for four years in a row. With help from two subordinates, who are also charged, they said Porat submitted false information about student test scores, work experience and other data.
The elevated rankings helped the university draw more students and vastly increased the Fox School of Business’ revenue under Porat’s tenure.
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An attorney for Porat, Michael A. Schwartz, had argued at trial that although made mistakes, Porat did not commit a crime.
