LIVERPOOL, England — Most people pick up a side hustle to earn a little extra spending money.

One Liverpool man allegedly turned his into a multi-million-dollar operation.

Authorities say 43-year-old Shahid Adnan spent years helping university students complete coursework, write assignments, and even take online exams on their behalf. The business proved so profitable that investigators later discovered bank accounts holding millions of dollars, luxury vehicles parked outside his home, and furnishings that seemed far beyond the means of an ordinary delivery driver.

According to prosecutors, Adnan worked as an Amazon Flex delivery driver while secretly operating an academic cheating enterprise that served students from universities around the world.

Investigators estimate he worked with at least 124 students.

For many of those students, Adnan allegedly became a one-stop academic solution. Need help with an assignment? He could do it. Struggling with coursework? He could handle that too. Worried about an online exam? Prosecutors say he was willing to log in and take the test himself.

Authorities claim the operation generated astonishing sums of money.

Investigators uncovered nearly £1.5 million in one Barclays account, more than £600,000 in a personal Lloyds account, another quarter-million pounds in a business account, and a PayPal balance exceeding £100,000.

Police were also impressed by what they found inside Adnan’s home.

Luxury furnishings, expensive appliances, and high-end vehicles suggested a lifestyle that prosecutors argued was difficult to explain through tutoring and package deliveries alone.

Ironically, the entire operation unraveled because of a single USB flash drive.

In February 2023, a student submitted coursework to Liverpool John Moores University and claimed it was his own work. However, university officials noticed something unusual. Examination of a pen drive connected to the submission revealed links to Adnan and his company, Study Sharp Ltd.

That discovery opened the door to a much larger investigation.

University staff eventually uncovered spreadsheets containing student login credentials, coursework schedules, academic modules, and other information that suggested outside assistance was being provided on a significant scale.

The evidence pointed to something even more serious than assignment help.

Investigators concluded that Adnan had been logging into university systems using student credentials and, in some cases, taking examinations for students.

The matter was referred to Merseyside Police’s Cyber Dependent Crime Unit, which launched a criminal investigation.

Police later obtained a search warrant and arrested Adnan.

During questioning, he admitted accessing at least one student’s university account and confessed to taking an examination on behalf of that student. According to court records, he received approximately £250 for that particular job.

Adnan reportedly argued that he was unaware he required university authorization to access a student’s account.

Authorities disagreed.

Prosecutors charged him with fraud, unauthorized access to computer systems, and money laundering.

After initially pleading guilty to some charges and contesting others, Adnan eventually admitted to the money-laundering offense as well.

On June 17, 2026, Liverpool Crown Court sentenced him to three years in prison.

Officials are now working to recover money earned through the scheme.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Andrew Madden said investigators faced a difficult task unraveling the complex network of accounts and transactions.

According to prosecutors, Adnan created intricate financial trails in an effort to avoid detection while spending heavily on an increasingly lavish lifestyle.

What remains unclear is the fate of the students who allegedly paid for the service.

While Adnan’s sentence has now been handed down, authorities have not publicly disclosed whether the students who hired him will face disciplinary action from their universities.

For now, one thing is certain:

What began as an academic shortcut for dozens of students ultimately became a very expensive lesson in consequences.

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