Students arrested for allegedly stealing $114,000 from student organizations

Two students at Middle Tennessee State University were arrested for allegedly stealing over $114,000 from student organizations.

A press release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that Mohamed Gure and Mohamed Osman stole funds from Middle Tennessee State’s Somali Student Association and Muslim Student Association.

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Gure was charged by the Rutherford County Grand Jury for “one count of Theft over $60,000, one count of Theft over $10,000, 30 counts of Forgery, and two counts of Criminal Simulation.” Osman was charged with “one count of Theft over $60,000, 28 counts of Forgery, and two counts of Criminal Simulation.”

Campus Reform obtained charging documents indicating that Gure and Osman defrauded the university on several dozen instances between May 2018 and June 2020.

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Gure and Osman were booked into Rutherford County Jail, where they are currently being held for bonds of $60,000 and $50,000, respectively.

Middle Tennessee State University Senior Director of Media Relations Jimmy Hart directed Campus Reform toward a statement from university president Sidney McPhee.

“These allegations are disappointing and will be forcefully addressed,” she said. “I want to thank our administrators and auditors who reported their suspicions to the State Comptroller for review. If proven to be true, we will pursue every appropriate legal and campus judicial action to hold those accountable and recoup the funds.”

The university has “begun corrective actions” and will review “how the Student Activity Fee Committee considers funding requests” to ensure that “future monies are used properly and to confirm the activities fulfill their stated purposes.” Accordingly, faculty advisers will assume a greater role in monitoring the documentation of expenditures.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigations spokeswoman Susan Niland told Campus Reform that according to one of the department’s special agents, they have not “seen any similar pattern” of students stealing activities fees “over the past several years.”

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