Stanford University in California has revoked the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree of a financial figure who was convicted last month of insider trading, Campus Reform reported.
Administrators at Stanford's Graduate School of Business rescinded their offer of admission to Mathew Martoma, mollifying the degree he earned in 2003, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, the SAC Capital Advisors LP employee's conviction of insider trading last month was not the reason why he lost the degree.
During Martoma's trial, it was revealed that he was kicked out of law school at Harvard Law School for falsifying transcript grades before applying to Stanford, Campus Reform reported. He did not report to Stanford when he was applying to its business school.
Applicants to the University's law school sign a statement saying that offers of admission can be revoked for certain actions, such as "a serious lack of judgment or integrity" prior to enrolling.
As a result, Stanford has now rescinded his offer of admission, "which has the impact of making his degree invalid," Campus Reform reported.
"We take very seriously any violation of the integrity of our admissions process," Stanford spokeswoman Barbara Buell told The Wall Street Journal.
She added that the university has provisions for "revoking degrees or acceptance offers if a student is found to have gained admission through false pretenses," The Wall Street Journal reported.
On Feb. 6, Martoma was convicted of insider trading for illegal trades on two pharmaceutical companies that helped SAC book profits and avoid losses worth $275 million. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of two counts of securities fraud, and up to five years for a conspiracy charge, The Wall Street Journal reported.
He is currently set to be sentenced June 10.
