The Murray State News November 20, 2015
TheNews.org
Vol. 90, No. 13
Ex-Phi Mu Alpha member faces fraud charge Vishal Patel due in court for allegedly spending $12,000 of the fraternity’s money on personal purchases Alicia Steele || Staff writer asteele5@murraystate.edu
A former member of the music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha is due in court Monday to face a charge of credit card fraud after being accused of spending more than $12,000 of the fraternity’s money on personal purchases, according to an arrest warrant. Vishal Patel, who also goes by Chris, used Phi Mu Alpha’s credit card between Sept. 22, 2014, and March 10, 2015, to
make cash withdrawals, buy a plane ticket and pay his cell phone bill and rent, according to the warrant filed in Calloway County District Court. Patel’s attorney, public defender Cheri Riedel, said because of attorney-client privilege, she could not comment on whether Patel will plead guilty or not guilty Monday. But she said Patel, who graduated in May, had been released from the Calloway County Jail on a $12,000
bond. The Calloway Circuit Court Clerk’s office confirmed that Ashvin Patel paid the bond. If tried and found guilty of fraudulent use of a credit card of more than $10,000 – a Class C felony in Kentucky – Patel could face between five and 10 years in prison. According to the warrant, the music fraternity’s president and treasurer discovered in March that Patel had made unauthorized charges and cash withdrawals on Phi
Mu Alpha’s credit card. On March 12, John Fannin, associate professor of music and faculty adviser for Phi Mu Alpha, reported to Murray State’s Public Safety and Emergency Management that the fraternity had given its credit card to Patel to make purchases but discovered questionable cash withdrawals and payments, including to AT&T for a cell phone bill. Fannin declined to comment to The Murray State News.
On March 24, Detective Sergeant Barry Rice of Public Safety interviewed Patel, who admitted to Rice that he had made cash withdrawals and paid his cell phone bill, but told Rice he thought the transactions totaled $2,500, according to the warrant. Rice interviewed Patel again on April 15 after reviewing the fraternity’s bank statements. Patel, according to the warrant, told Rice the amount of the unauthorized transactions could have to-
taled closer to $5,000 and admitted to paying his rent and buying a plane ticket with fraternity funds. Rice told Patel that bank records showed the total of improper transactions to be more than $12,000, the warrant says. Patel told Rice that $12,000 seemed too high, and Rice advised Patel that he would be criminally charged. Adrienne King, vice president for Marketing and Out-
see FRAUD, 2A
‘ADMIN’ email Extended library hours to begin not a virus threat to students, staff Alicia Steele || Staff writer asteele5@murraystate.edu
Last week some faculty, staff and students received an email from “ADMIN” warning that if they did not click on a link provided in the email, their Racermail account would be deactivated. Many students thought this was a virus that had entered the system; however, according to a collaborated email to The Murray State News from Brian Purcell, Associate CIO of Information Systems and Casey Workman, a member of Purcell’s team,
Purcell said only certain students received the email because the attackers will usually already have a precompiled list of email addresses from previous attacks or from the organization’s own website. “It’s important to note that with this style of attack it is in the attacker’s best interest to automate everything they can,” Purcell wrote. He said attackers rarely want to sort through the victim’s contact list to pick and choose who to attack, and their goal is to “phish” as many ac-
Nicole Ely/The News Screenshot from Twitter.com
Students looking to study beyond normal Waterfield Library hours for finals can do so beginning Dec. 1, when the library’s extended hours start.
President Bob Davies responded to a students’ concern about the email sent by “ADMIN.” “There is no virus” for the university community to be concerned about. “In the overwhelming majority of these kinds of incidents, the attacker sends an email to the target asking for the target’s credentials,” Purcell wrote. He said in this instance, the link included in the email was a web form that asked for personal information, and the only way the attackers would have gotten information would have been if the student filled out the information and submitted it. “Hopefully nobody actually filled out the form and submitted it,” Purcell wrote.
Mikayla Marshall Staff writer
counts as possible before they are discovered. Phishing is the attempt to get information from an online account holder by posing as a company or entity. “These types of attacks try to cast as broad a net as possible,” Purcell wrote. “There were faculty, staff and students that received this message.” Purcell wrote that when it comes to incidents like this and email security, Murray State has many “technical security controls” in place to combat email abuse, including those from Murray State’s
see EMAIL, 2A
mmarshall5@murraystate.edu
Nicole Ely/The News
The hours cost the library about $2,000, but allows for a safe space for students to study.
Waterfield Library will offer extended hours for Dec. 1 through Dec. 11. The library will be open 24/7 on weekdays and operate on a 10 to 10 schedule beginning Friday night and ending Sunday night. The total amount of hours open were revised and staff decided to close the library on weekends more than the weekdays. The amount of people per extended hour is calculated by the library staff, so they know when to remain open during certain times. “We found that on the Friday
Fire being investigated as arson, four left dead Ashley Traylor Staff writer
atraylor@murraystate.edu
Jenny Rohl/The News
A house fire on Highway 121 killed four people and has been called “suspicious” by officials.
WHAT’S
INSIDE
Police are still investigating the Tuesday night house fire on Highway 121 that left four dead. No new information regarding the fire has been released, state Trooper Jay Thomas said Thursday. A Murray State student called the fire into the Murray Police Department. The Kentucky State Police arrived on the scene at 9:44 p.m. on Tuesday, Thomas said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly, and investigators found four bodies inside. The fire is being investigated as arson. The Calloway County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Bulmaro Arellano, 29, Marisol Hernandez, 24, a 5-yearold boy and an 18-month girl, according
to WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky. Investigators said Marisol Hernandez died from a gunshot wound, but investigators do not know if the other victims had gunshot wounds. Autopsies were being performed Thursday. Thomas said Kentucky State Police are continuing with the Thomas investigation by conducting interviews with the victim’s family in Mexico. Investigators are also still processing evidence. Kentucky State Police are using a system called a Leica System that gives investigators a 3-D panoramic view of the crime scene. It will help investigators reconstruct the scene and find out what happened, according to WPSD.
night between the week before finals and the week of finals, that the money we were spending to keep the facility open was probably not benefiting that many students,” said Ashley Ireland, dean of University Libraries, “Compared to the peak nights, which are the Wednesday and Thursday nights before finals and the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights the week of finals.” It costs the facility around $2,000 a semester to offer these hours. This covers the extra pay for workers and accommodations the library offers. They also have additional security, such as Racer
see HOURS, 2A
CORRECTION On Friday, Nov. 13, The Murray State News printed an error in the article, “Switching track.” The article used the incorrect pronoun for Rochelle Black. Black is a “he.” On Friday, Nov. 13, The Murray State News printed an error in the article, “Balancing school spirit and the favorite team.” Because of an editing error, the article used the incorrect pronoun for Leah Judd. Judd is a “she.” The News regrets the errors.
See an error? Let us know by sending us an email at murraystatenews@icloud.com
VETERAN’S DAY
OUR VIEW
VOLLEYBALL OVC
ALPHA SIG
Honoring those who have served in the military, 3A
Murray State has worked to be a safe place for LGBT, 4A
Murray State brings the OVC Tournament to Racer Arena, 1B
Fraternity holds an online philanthropy challenge, 5B