Search Results for: fraud

Danish court dismisses charges against neuroscientist in appeal of fraud verdict

A Copenhagen court has cleared neuroscientist Milena Penkowa of the most serious charges against her after she appealed a 2015 verdict that she had faked data. According to the CPH Post, the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen dismissed the case. Although the court acknowledged she had committed fraud, it declared it was not “serious forgery.” On Facebook, Penkowa posted … Continue reading Danish court dismisses charges against neuroscientist in appeal of fraud verdict

Nutrition researcher Chandra, who lost libel suit, charged with health care fraud

A nutrition researcher with multiple retractions who unsuccessfully sued the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) for libel has been charged with defrauding a state health insurance plan. The Toronto Star reports that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Ranjit Kumar Chandra for billing the Ontario Health Insurance Plan for “services that were either not provided … Continue reading Nutrition researcher Chandra, who lost libel suit, charged with health care fraud

Judges toss lawsuits by CrossFit gym claiming fraud in $273 million in grants

Federal judges in Ohio have dismissed two lawsuits claiming that university researchers used false results to secure more than $250 million in federal grants. Both lawsuits, which objected to a study examining the effects of CrossFit-based training, were filed by Mitchell Potterf, the owner of a gym affiliated with CrossFit in Columbus, Ohio. Potterf took issue … Continue reading Judges toss lawsuits by CrossFit gym claiming fraud in $273 million in grants

Cell Press dismisses fraud allegations in high-profile genetics papers

Cell Press has dismissed accusations of image manipulation in two well-cited papers.  In June 2015, we reported that the publisher was investigating anonymous allegations of more than a dozen instances of manipulation of images in the papers published in Cell and Molecular Cell in 1999 and 2001, respectively.  After assessing the original high-resolution versions of images from the laboratory notebook of … Continue reading Cell Press dismisses fraud allegations in high-profile genetics papers

Why did a chemistry journal fix fraud with a correction instead of a retraction?

Are some cases of research fraud fixable with a correction notice? A chemistry journal thought so in 2014, when it issued a correction notice for a 2012 paper after the first author admitted to manipulating an image. After an investigation, the publisher agreed the manipulation was a “clear breach” of its ethical guidelines, but decided not to … Continue reading Why did a chemistry journal fix fraud with a correction instead of a retraction?

Weekend reads: What lurks in clinical trial databases; plagiarism by Russian ministers; why journals shy away from fraud allegations

The week at Retraction Watch featured a PhD student expelled for submitting a paper without her co-authors’ permission, and a look at the six types of peer reviewers. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

4th retraction for neuroscientist sentenced for fraud

A Parkinson’s researcher has earned his fourth retraction after receiving a two-year suspended sentence for fraud. The sentence for Bruce Murdoch, issued on March 31, 2016, came following an investigation by his former employer, the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia, into 92 papers. Murdoch entered guilty pleas for 17 fraud-related charges, which resulted in the retraction … Continue reading 4th retraction for neuroscientist sentenced for fraud

Canada funding agency bans researcher for fraud, and in first, reveals her name

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has banned a bone researcher for life following a finding of misconduct. And in a first, the agency has named her, in their report out today. The case of Sophie Jamal may be familiar to Retraction Watch readers, as we covered it in October of last year following reporting … Continue reading Canada funding agency bans researcher for fraud, and in first, reveals her name

Weekend reads: More Impact Factor scrutiny; $10 million fine for overbilling; protected Canadian fraudsters

The week at Retraction Watch featured the loss of a Harvard researcher’s PhD for misconduct, and the harrowing tale of a whistleblower. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

“We should err on the side of protecting people’s reputation:” Management journal changes policy to avoid fraud

How can academic journals ensure the integrity of the data they publish? For one journal, the key is looking deeply at statistics, which revealed crucial problems in the research of recent high-profile fraudsters such as Anil Potti. Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Management, Patrick Wright from the University of South Carolina, recently authored an editorial about how he’s … Continue reading “We should err on the side of protecting people’s reputation:” Management journal changes policy to avoid fraud