The Legnica District Prosecutor’s Office, as part of an investigation into fraud in the accounting of research projects commissioned between 2005 and 2013 from the Faculty of Electronics at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, obtained an expert opinion in the field of scientific misconduct and intellectual property protection. It shows that three of the eight scientists questioned so far committed plagiarism when accounting for grants, that is, they claimed authorship of other people’s scientific works or parts thereof.

In recent days, the suspects were charged with offenses under the Copyright Protection Act. The charges of appropriating authorship of other people’s works by submitting them as their own, when in fact they consisted of fragments of master’s or doctoral theses and fragments of other people’s research papers, were brought against the following suspects: 66-year-old Adam J., 39-year-old Tomasz K. and 41-year-old Maciej L.

Adam J. had the earlier charges supplemented with three plagiarism offenses: in November 2011, appropriating authorship of part of a master’s thesis; in August 2012, a fragment of another person’s report on the implementation of a research project; and in November 2012, part of another person’s doctoral thesis.

Tomasz K. was additionally charged with two plagiarism offenses: in October 2012, appropriating authorship of another person’s algorithm; and in March 2013, a fragment of another person’s master’s thesis.

Maciej L.’s charges were supplemented with one plagiarism offense—appropriating, in November 2011, a fragment of another person’s master’s thesis. None of them admitted guilt. All three also refused to provide explanations.

Based on the expert opinion, it was established that three other people had also appropriated authorship of other people’s works. They have been charged, but the charges have not yet been formally announced to them. The earlier fraud charges concern a total of seven research projects, and the total amount of money allegedly obtained through fraud exceeds PLN 1,750,000. The scheme involved obtaining funds from the university and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education for information technology research that, in reality, was largely not carried out.

In June 2013, the first academic employees were charged: Adam K., Radosław R. and Agnieszka R. In October, four more were charged. At the time, they were two managers of individual projects, Maciej L. and Tomasz K., as well as Mateusz G. and Adam J.

A charge was also brought against Maria K., who was not professionally connected with the university—the wife of one of the suspects. Adam J., the head of one of the university’s departments, acted jointly and in agreement with the other suspects in obtaining and then fraudulently accounting for funds from all the questioned projects. As part of the grants, the suspects entered into contracts with one another for carrying out partial tasks, as well as with doctoral students, students and random people, most often family members or acquaintances who had no qualifications to perform the work covered by the contracts.

The suspects knew that the partial tasks covered by the charges had not been completed. Nevertheless, they accounted for the allocated funds in final reports that formed the basis for payment. In doing so, they misled Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. They unlawfully received payment for the work.

In addition to the charges of obtaining money through fraud in connection with managing individual projects, Maciej L., Tomasz K. and Mateusz G. are also suspected of fraud in connection with contracts to perform three partial tasks, since they knew that the commissioned work had not been carried out by them.

Fraud involving property of significant value—that is, property whose value at the time of the offense exceeded PLN 200,000—is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A public official who committed offenses for financial gain, making it a permanent source of income, as Adam J. has been charged with doing, faces a sentence of between one and 15 years in prison. Claiming authorship of another person’s work or a fragment thereof is punishable by up to three years in prison.

The investigation is nearing completion. We will return to the subject.

Legnica District Prosecutor’s Office/ii