Business owner used false deal with University of Kentucky to seek federal grant
A businessman has admitted misrepresenting an agreement with the University of Kentucky in applying for a research grant.
Subhadarshi Nayak pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Lexington to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two charges of wire fraud.
Nayak applied for a grant from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency in December 2017 for a proposal to research cleaning up contaminated soil. He said in the application that he had an agreement with UK for a professor to work on the project, according to his plea agreement.
There was no such deal in place, but Nayak knew that associating with a university increased the chances that his Lexington business, Qmetry, would get the grant, according to his plea agreement.
EPA awarded Nayak’s company $100,000. Nayak, who lived in Lexington, submitted false reports to draw down payments from the grant, according to the court record.
Nayak also acknowledged that he took part in submitting false information for a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a project related to a scanning electron microscope.
The application included false information on the budget for the project, which involved an unnamed university in Tennessee, according to Nayak’s plea agreement.
As a result of fraudulent conduct, the government awarded $999,266 for the project to ScienceTomorrow, a Lexington company owned by Nayak and Jyoti Agrawal, the plea agreement said.
Nayak’s plea agreement said the loss to the government was not more than $305,181. The amount of restitution he owes will be determined later.
Agrawal faces conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges in the case. She has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in January.
The maximum sentence on the most serious charge against Nayak would be 20 years in prison. Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves scheduled sentencing in December.
