Youth arrested for faking Rs 1.8 crore NASA job, forging US President Obama’s signature

The Madhya Pradesh police on Friday arrested a 20-year-old who claimed to be an employee of United States’ space agency – National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The police also seized a fake identity card, on which he had forged the signature of the US President Barack Obama.

The accused, Ansar Khan, had only studied till class 12. But claimed that he had been appointed to NASA’s ‘Space and Food’ program with an annual compensation of Rs 1.85 crore. Khan claimed that his job was about to start later this month.

A primary school in Kamlapur felicitated him during the Independence Day function, which was also attended by local politicians. Khan invited senior officials from Kamalpur administration for the event, which proved to be his undoing.

When he came to invite senior police officer Shashikant Shukla, the latter became suspicious of Khan’s claims after the spotting identity card around his neck. Shukla then ordered an enquiry and verification of the young man’s claims.

During investigation, police discovered that Khan’s claims were false and that he had borrowed money from several people under the pretence of paying them back from his high-paying job.

According to police, he visited a local photo studio on August 14 where printed the fake NASA identity card, complete with the agency’s official logo and a signature of President Barack Obama.

The owner of the photo studio told police that Khan kept on postponing his date of going to the US and did not even possess a passport.

Khan’s school and other local organizations had also organized functions to celebrate his achievement.

He has been booked for fraud and forgery.