Quebec professor charged for stealing scholarship money intended for foreign students

By The Canadian Press on December 19, 2024.

A former professor at a Quebec university was arrested Tuesday and is facing charges for fraud, secret commissions and extortion of foreign students under his wing. A Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) patch is seen on an officer in Calgary on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

MONTREAL – Quebec anticorruption police have arrested a former university professor for allegedly defrauding and extorting foreign students.

Police say René Wamkeue used schemes to steal scholarship money that was intended for the foreign master’s and doctoral students he supervised.

In a news release, the anticorruption unit known as UPAC says Wamkeue is facing charges of fraud, extortion and secret commissions.

Police say Wamkeue worked from 2010 to 2017 as an engineering professor at Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, about 500 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

Wamkeue was released on a promise to appear at a courthouse in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., in February.

The university was not immediately available for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.