University of West Bohemia former dean convicted of scholarship fraud

The Plzeň Regional Court has upheld a suspended sentence, fine, and ban on professional activities for Lukáš Štich, the former dean of the Faculty of Health Studies at the University of West Bohemia (ZČU).

Štich was convicted of breaching duties in the administration of third-party property. The court found that between February 2019 and June 2022, the former dean approved 55 instances of excessively high extraordinary scholarships for students. He then had the students return the majority of these funds to him personally.

While Štich admitted to issuing the scholarships, he denied personal enrichment, claiming the funds were used for faculty operations, equipment, and construction work. However, the court ruled that the crime was completed the moment the university lost control of the funds.

In addition to a one-year suspended sentence with a three-year probation period, Štich must pay a fine of 150,000 CZK and is banned from managing public property for three years. The university is also owed 765,000 CZK in damages.