Morgan State University Professor Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison

BALTIMORE ― A professor at Morgan State University has been sentenced to three years in prison for fraudulently obtaining research grants from the National Science Foundation.

Forty-seven-year-old Manoj Kumar Jha of Severn was also ordered to pay $105,726 in restitution at sentencing Friday in federal court in Baltimore.

According to trial testimony, Jha received $200,000 in grant funds for a highway project. Prosecutors say Jha falsely claimed on the application that a company Jha headed would work on the project and that it had eight employees.

Prosecutors say Jha used the money to pay personal expenses.