A man who made more than £300,000 by secretly completing coursework and online exams for students has been jailed for three years after a university investigation exposed his operation.Shahid Adnan, 34, of Liverpool, was sentenced after admitting fraud and money laundering offenses relating to a scheme involving students at Liverpool John Moores University and other universities.Adnan used students’ login details to access their accounts, complete assignments and sit online examinations on their behalf in exchange for payment. He also ran a company named “Study Sharp Limited” through which illegal work was carried out.The fraud was discovered on 24 February 2023 when a student handed over a pen drive containing coursework to a senior computer forensics manager of the university. Regular checking of the device revealed that it was previously used by Adnan and contained links to his business. Further investigation revealed spreadsheets containing details of modules and deadlines as well as personal login credentials of other students.The findings revealed that Adnan was accessing university systems to submit work and take exams fraudulently. The case was then handed over to Merseyside Police’s Cyber Crime Unit, who later executed a search warrant at his home and arrested him.Adnan later admitted that he had taken an exam for a student and accessed their account using their details, for which he was paid £250. He said he was “not aware” of requiring authorization from the university to log into the account. They may have done similar work for about 124 students in universities around the world.Adnan was making a living far beyond his declared income as a tutor and Amazon Flex delivery driver. His accounts showed large sums of money, including £1,505,156 in a Barclays account, £600,590 in a Lloyds personal account, £245,279 in a Lloyds business account and £110,214 in PayPal. He also had two cars, an Audi and a BMW, along with expensive furnishings.He was charged with fraud by misrepresentation, interfering with the functioning of a computer to secure or enable unauthorized access to program data, and money laundering. He first admitted two crimes on September 2 and later pleaded guilty to money laundering on October 7, 2025.Now a timetable has been set to recover the money earned from his crime.