A ghostwriter has uncovered an extensive academic fraud scheme after writing thousands of papers for students at major Australian universities.
Known as “The Kenyan,” he worked for the Chinese company Assignment Joy, writing essays for struggling international students for as little as US$149 (US$100) per 1,000 words.
The “academic author” called Australia’s education system a “sham” and said he was concerned about some medical students because they never completed a task during their studies.
The ghostwriter, known as “The Kenyan”, worked for the China-based company Assignment Joy (pictured) and had written thousands of articles for students at dozens of Australia’s top universities
“If you saw all the things that I saw, your mind would be blown… I realized the education system is just a sham,” he told The Australian.
“I have some students that I’ve worked for since their freshman year and I’ve done all the assignments until they graduate, just pass and get all the grades.
“What worries me is the medical students who haven’t even completed an assignment since day one.”
The Kenyan said 60 percent of the market redeemed were Chinese foreign students with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, including nursing, health sciences, education, psychology and business administration.
Fraudulent assignments were written for students at the country’s top universities, including the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland, papers obtained by The Australian showed.
Others included the University of South Australia, Macquarie University and Torrens University, and several TAFEs.
Thousands of people are said to be employed by Assignment Joy in Kenya and South Africa because of their low labor costs and English skills, with The Kenyan personally knowing about 50 writers in its field.
Assignment Joy’s website explains that the company offers an “essay writing service” for students attending universities in the UK, Australia, the US, New Zealand and Canada.
“We offer essay writing consultancy and essay polishing consultancy, all of which support the passing of guarantees,” the website reads.
“Often a good job is the key to your success, so selection is more important than hard work.”
The company, which has an office address in Jiangsu, north of Shanghai, and claims to have an office in Sydney, also offers Australian thesis writing, priced based on a proficiency level.
The company offers Australian thesis writing to students (pictured). Students are charged the grade they want to achieve
Students who are satisfied with a Class C paper pay $30 per 250 words, while those wanting a Class A doctorate pay $60—with prices depending on difficulty, deadlines, and major depend on the course.
The level of involvement of Assignment Joy authors varied, with some providing students with course materials, essential reading, and rubrics for assignments via email.
Other students gave the ghostwriter their university credentials so they could work on homework and homework for the entire course.
For a Diet and Nutrition for Health and Sport assignment at the University of Sydney, a ghostwriter logged into the student’s online portal after being guided through the security check via Chinese messaging app WeChat.
The ghostwriter downloaded the material to “discuss the energy needs of a top athlete” and to use “comparative data on the average Australian and the top athlete”.
The 2,500 word paper was submitted via email the next day and the student was billed $133 by Assignment Joy.
The University of Sydney (pictured) said it was extremely concerned about “brazen” activity by contract fraud services, which has increased since 2019
The University of Sydney told Daily Mail Australia that it has seen an increase in aggressive activity from contract fraud companies since 2019 and is working hard to “ensure the integrity of its educational programmes”.
“We are extremely concerned by the brazen activities of contract fraud services impacting universities worldwide,” it said.
“In response, we have developed a multi-pronged strategy [and] Continuously adjust this strategy as the threat evolves.
“We take all allegations of scientific misconduct seriously and act in all cases that come to our attention.”
The university said all cases of contract fraud – which is illegal under Australian law – have been referred to the registrar for internal and external investigation.
Penalties ranged from suspension to expulsion, while students who were the subject of extortion or “unscrupulous conduct” by ghostwriters were supported.
The university added: “While the overwhelming majority of our students are diligent and honest, we work with the small percentage of our students who deal with scammers.
‘[We] to educate them about the risks to their education, reputation and well-being – and to help them resist such influences.”
Daily Mail Australia contacted Assignment Joy for comment.
