Colorado State University Professor Criminally Charged After Allegedly Faking Offer Letter From University of Minnesota

Brian R. McNaughton, a former associate professor at Colorado State University, has been criminally charged for his alleged faking of an offer of employment from the University of Minnesota to secure a raise. That $5,000 raise became a costly addition as part of a criminal charge of attempting to influence a public official.

McNaughton ran a biochemistry research group at CSU called the McNaughton Lab.

Tom Hays, Professor at University of Minnesota was the interim dean during the period of College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota. He later denied ever writing the letter and express shock at the disclosure.

The Chronicle obtained a July 2017 letter that McNaughton sent to Janice Nerger, dean of Colorado State’s College of Natural Sciences.  In the letter, he admits to “a very bad decision” caused by difficult financial problems.

Like false credentials, such matters are ordinarily handed as non-criminal matters.  However in this case a fraudulent letter was allegedly in an effort to secure financial advantage.