A professor from Drexel University wasted $185,000 in federal grants on strip clubs, sports bars, and iTunes products, according to prosecutors.
Chika Nwankpa, who headed the Philadelphia university’s electrical engineering department, spent $185,000 in federal grant dollars from the United States Navy on strippers, meals, and iTunes music over a 10-year period. Nwankpa, 57, dropped $96,000 in strip clubs and sports bars and $89,000 on iTunes products between 2010 and 2017.
The professor claimed the spending was on catering for official events, but most of the spending was completed when Nwankpa was not working, including 55 purchases on weekends and 72 purchases that took place between midnight to 2 a.m. In total, Nwankpa completed 114 fraudulent purchases with the grant money. The professor admitted wrongdoing and resigned from Drexel in October 2017, after the fraud became known to the university.
Nwankpa, who had worked at Drexel for 27 years, paid the university back $53,000 upon his resignation and was barred from federal contracting for six months. The university footed the bill for Nwankpa’s wrongdoing and paid the federal government $189,000 to replace the squandered funds. The agreement between Drexel and the federal government was part of a settlement between the two parties after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia sued the university.
District Attorney Larry Krasner ripped Nwankpa for betraying the trust of students at the university, stating, “Mr. Nwankpa inappropriately and criminally diverted tens of thousands of dollars that were allocated for research purposes toward his own private enjoyment. He betrayed Drexel University and tuition-paying students he was paid to educate.”
Over his tenure at Drexel, Nwankpa had landed more than $10 million in federal grants for the university. He became chair of the electrical engineering department in 2015.
On Monday, authorities arrested Nwankpa for theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception. If he is found guilty, the professor could spend 14 years behind bars. He was released from jail on $25,000 bail.
