The federal authorities has settled a lawsuit with Hunter School and a former Hunter professor alleging fraudulent use of grant funding from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being between 2010 and 2018, in line with a statement the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York launched Monday.
The lawsuit centered on Jeffrey Parsons-Hietikko, a former psychology professor who additionally led Hunter’s Heart for HIV Instructional Research (CHEST), which he based in 1996. Parsons-Hietikko, whom the legal professional’s workplace stated was “singularly proficient” at procuring NIH funding, admitted to in search of reimbursements for bills completely unrelated to his or CHEST’s analysis, together with for scuba-diving excursions, worldwide flights for him and his household, a tropical birthday celebration, and journeys to go to non-public consulting shoppers. In response to the assertion, he falsely claimed these bills had been for tutorial or analysis functions.
Parsons-Hietikko resigned from Hunter in 2019 after a collection of sexual harassment complaints that in the end value the Metropolis College of New York system, of which Hunter is a component, $1.25 million in settlement money.
Hunter School additionally admitted to improper use of NIH funds, together with submitting false timekeeping information that resulted in CHEST employees being reimbursed for unapproved work and utilizing $90,000 in NIH cash to pay Parsons-Hietikko undisclosed retention bonuses.
In response to the phrases of the settlement, Parsons-Hietikko can pay $375,000 and Hunter can pay $200,000.
