Yalie fraud finds himself in more legal hot water

The former student accused of conning his way into Yale and stealing over $60,000 worth of financial aid from the University and the federal government will face a jury and the possibility of up to 20 years in prison.

Lon "L.T" Grammer was expected to accept a plea bargain that would have allowed him to pay back a portion of the financial aid money he received from Yale and avoid serving time in prison. According to Assistant State's Attorney Mary Reidy, under the agreement Grammer would have pleaded guilty to larceny and repaid the University $100 a month for the next five years. She added that the payment schedule was based on Grammer's current financial status and that he would have been expected to pay more if he became employed.

But according to Thomas Conroy, Deputy Director of the Office of the Public Affairs, Grammer rejected the plea bargain on Monday. According to Thomas Conroy, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs, "My understanding is that Mr. Grammer and his attorney decided not to go forward with the plea." According to the New Haven Register, Superior Court Judge Richard Damiani told Grammer on Monday, "You are rejecting the state's offer and it is now gone forever....If you decide to try and plea again, there will be jail time involved."

However, Grammer's attorney, Norm Pattis, tells a different story. He said his client did not reject the plea bargain, but that Grammer only requested a one-month continuance to consider the offer and to assess his financial situation. Pattis said since the case has already been going on for over two years, another month would not have made a difference. "I'm not sure why there was such a rush to conclude this thing," Pattis commented. He said that after rejecting the request for a continuance, Damiani withdrew the plea bargain offer. "Mr. Grammer requested an additional month to consider the offer, and the court lost its patience and its temper," Pattis commented. "It would be a mischaracterization to say that Mr. Grammer rejected the offer."

It has been rumored that Pattis intends to file a motion to change the location of the trial away from New Haven after the judge's comments about prison time, but both Reidy and Yale General Council Dorothy Robinson said that Pattis had not mentioned the possibility to them. However, Robinson claimed such a motion has little legal backing. "I don't think there's any basis for moving it," she said.

Yale began investigating Grammer's credentials when a former roommate told police that Grammer had bragged about lying his way into Yale. Officials discovered that he had falsified his transcript from Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo, California and forged teacher recommendations. Grammer was arrested in April 1995, only a month before he was planning to graduate with a political science degree.

This was only the latest in a string of deceptions. Grammer had pleaded guilty to petty theft and passing bad checks, and confessed in 1996 to forging his former roommate's name to obtain a driver's license and lease a car.

Pattis has argued that the larceny charge against Grammer is unfounded since "no one has been deprived of anything." He maintains that one cannot "steal" an education and that Pattis' financial aid forms accurately reflected his financial status. "I don't think he's guilty of anything," Pattis commented.

Yale officials don't buy this argument. "I think the important thing to note is that the authorities disagree with that," Conroy said. "No institution or individual can pursue a charge against someone without a legal prosecutor believing it had merit. You don't have to take the University's word that it was larceny. The authorities have filed that charge."

Although Yale has not filed a lawsuit against Grammer, it may do so soon. Robinson said that it is "likely" that the University will sue for "complete restitution." According to Reidy, Grammer received a total of $33,050 in financial aid from Yale. Robinson said she has read that Grammer is currently repaying federal grants and loans, but added that the Department of Education has not confirmed this.

According to Reidy, the case will probably go to trial in late 1997 or early 1998. Yale officials are optimistic that they will triumph. "Anyone who goes before a jury has a chance of being acquitted, but we hope for a conviction," Robinson said.

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