Phillip Calderon has been charged with a Class A misdemeanor in connection with his alleged attempt to pose as an undergraduate student at Binghamton University.
According to Matthew Rossie, an investigator for Binghamton’s New York State University Police, Calderon allegedly falsified information in two cases.
Calderon, who is 37 years old, allegedly indicated that he was a BU student. He is also charged with changing his date of birth to make himself appear 10 years younger.
Rossie said he was unaware of any possible motives and that he was ‘not sure if [Calderon] received any kind of benefit or access’ from his alleged actions.
Calderon was not a BU student, nor has he ever been, as far as Rossie knows.
However, background checks found that Calderon had attended the University at Albany. He was enrolled there as a full-time student for three consecutive semesters from August 2005 to December 2006.
And although he was not a student at BU, he did have a listed binghamton.edu e-mail address, and he has a B-number.
‘We are disappointed and shocked,’ Student Association President Jared Kirschenbaum said. ‘On the University end they are dealing with the legal aspects. On our end we’ve terminated him and are looking to move forward.’
Calderon was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 29, given an appearance ticket and ‘escorted off campus’ by police, Rossie said.
‘We charged him, and we cut him loose and told him not to come back,’ Rossie said.
Calderon was charged with falsifying business records in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor.
The records that were allegedly falsified were in connection with a job application for Off Campus College Transportation. In documents associated with the application, Calderon allegedly provided false information relating to his education and work history, as well as a Federal Form I-9 with an incorrect date of birth that was allegedly signed by Calderon.
University Police became aware of the situation when they were notified by other departments in the University.
BU spokeswoman Gail Glover issued a statement Friday regarding the incident.
‘When we discovered that Calderon was masquerading as a student, we took immediate action and worked closely with the student government,’ Glover said. ‘We have set up a process with student government to regularly allow them to verify that applicants and leadership position holders are currently students.’
Calderon’s arraignment is set for Oct. 19 in the Town of Vestal Court.
‘ Melissa Bykofsky and Elena Cox contributed to this report