3 Men Charged in USC Grade-Changing Scheme

Two former USC students and a former employee in the university’s records office are facing felony charges for their part in a grade-tampering scandal that implicated more than 40 students, the district attorney’s office announced today.

Two of the men have surrendered to authorities and the third is a fugitive, a spokesman said. News of the prosecutions was delayed because of the continuing search.

Darryl Gillard, 27, the former office worker who was charged with seven counts of illegal computer access, is free on $20,000 bail awaiting a preliminary hearing May 12. He took payoffs ranging from $500 to $2,000 to change students’ grades, investigators say.

The two former students are accused of acting as middlemen for Gillard. Mehrdad Amini, 28, of Beverly Hills was charged with five counts of illegal computer access. Also facing federal cocaine possession charges, he is in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail. Manuel Roberts, 23, facing one count of illegal computer access, is being sought.

Suspicions of illicit grade-changing on the USC computers surfaced in early 1984 during an internal audit. Administrative hearings ultimately were called for more than 40 students suspected of having their grades altered between May, 1983, and May, 1984.

Seventeen students were expelled, six were suspended and another 17 had their academic records put on “permanent hold” after they failed to respond to requests to attend the administrative hearings.