BOULDER, Colo. — A mechanical engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder has pleaded guilty to mail fraud for using funds from a research grant for personal expenses, including international travel.
Oleg Viktorovich Vasilyev, 50, pleaded guilty Monday. Sentencing on the federal charge is scheduled for Oct. 25.
Court records show Vasilyev received a $234,000 contract with Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico in 2006 without the knowledge of the university’s Office of Contracts and Grants. He drew money from the grant over several years, including $140,000 for international travel unrelated to the grant’s purpose.
University spokeswoman Deborah Mendez-Wilson tells the Boulder Daily Camera that Vasilyev reached a settlement in which he agreed to repay nearly $186,000 and resign if he pleaded guilty to a felony.
Prosecutors are seeking $204,000 in restitution.
