Georgia Tech professor sentenced after defrauding government program of nearly $40K
A former Georgia Tech professor was sentenced to eight months of home confinement for defrauding the National Science Foundation out of nearly $40,000.
Maysam Ghovanloo, 46, was also ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution and was barred from doing business with the federal government for three years, U.S. Attorney BJay Pak said Tuesday in a statement.
Ghovanloo had been employed by Georgia Tech for 12 years, according to his LinkedIn.com profile. Pak said he was a tenured professor of electrical and computer engineering.
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In 2012, Ghovanloo founded Bionic Sciences, an organization that bills itself as a medical device developer and designer.
The business was funded by a federal grant through a research program that the National Science Foundation sponsored, according to Pak.
In order to be eligible for those funds, Ghovanloo had to meet certain requirements, including adhering to award terms and conditions and providing truthful information in all documents submitted to NSF.
“Federal grants awarded to develop new medical instruments require meticulous and truthful records be kept of how those dollars are applied,” Pak said. “These funds are designed to help bring new innovations to fulfillment, and hopefully also into the medical arena, where they can be used for wellness.”
However, prosecutors said Ghovanloo submitted forms with fake and fraudulent information in order to obtain the federal research grant.
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Ghovanloo was forced to resign from his position at Georgia Tech on June 21. He was convicted Aug. 21 after entering a guilty plea to wire fraud charges.
Bionic Sciences developed the Tongue Drive System, a device created to allow people with spinal cord injuries to control their wheelchairs, computer cursors or smart phones with tongue movements.
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About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
