Ex-Student at USC Guilty in Grade-Altering

A 28-year-old former USC student was convicted Tuesday of paying to have his grades altered through the university’s computer system, but jurors were unable to reach a verdict on whether he acted as a middleman who brought other students into the scheme.

On its fourth day of deliberations, the jury found Merhdad (Michael) Amini of Beverly Hills guilty of three counts of paying for illegal computer access by a former employee of the university’s registration and records office to improve the transcript of his grades in such subjects as economics and civil engineering between May, 1983, and January, 1984.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Fred Woods declared a mistrial on two other counts of illegal computer access and set a Sept. 3 sentencing date. Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen Plafker, who prosecuted Amini, said he faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months.

Paid to Change Grades

The key witness against Amini was Darryl Gillard, also 28, who pleaded guilty July 21 to one count of illegal computer access and one count of cocaine sale. Plafker said Gillard received between $200 and $300 for each grade change, but the prosecutor could not say how much Amini actually paid him.

The grade-tampering scheme, which USC authorities say may have involved as many as 43 students, was uncovered in the spring of 1984 after an academic adviser became suspicious of a student’s transcript.

Jurors said they reached the three guilty verdicts early in their deliberations but were split 6 to 6 on the other two counts.

Foreman Michael Galvin, 42, of Sierra Madre said that half the jurors believed that the evidence corroborating testimony from Gillard and the two students who said they paid Amini to have their grades changed “wasn’t strong enough.”

Not Even Registered

Like Amini, an Iranian national, most of Gillard’s customers were foreign students, according to Plafker, who added that charges may yet be filed against two other people linked to the case.

One student, Ali Tjahjadi, testified that in the fall term of 1983 he received an F in chemistry and an “incomplete” in civil engineering, but that both grades were transformed into A’s on his transcript the following April as a result of Amini’s intervention.

The second student, Amir Surjaputra, said he was given B’s in physics and civil engineering courses he never registered for, and that courses he dropped during the semester were deleted from his transcript.

Amini’s attorney, deputy public defender Mitchell J. Grossman, declined to discuss the case.