An Amazon delivery driver’s side hustle helped him amass more than $2 million in wealth by doing students’ assignments and writing online exams for them. However, things eventually went sideways, which led to his arrest.
If you think of it, that is quite a lot of money for a side hustle. He even owned an Audi and a BMW, although their models are not known. Authorities also found expensive furniture at his house that they did not expect to see.
The driver’s academic skills helped him complete coursework for university students, but taking exams on their behalf is what ultimately landed him in trouble.
While many may argue that he should not have been arrested because students paid him willingly, the authorities found him guilty of fraud.
Amazon Delivery Driver Became a Millionaire Through His Side Hustle
43-year-old Shahid Adnan from Liverpool allegedly helped students complete their coursework and cheat in exams, making millions of dollars in the process.
According to a report by the Crown Prosecution Service, Adnan made more than $400,000 from this alone, and the investigative authorities found that he was working for 124 students from different universities across the world.
The police found that he had three bank accounts and a trading account. A Barclays account had close to $2 million (£1,505,156), a personal Lloyds account had $800,000 (£600,590), about $325,000 (£245,279) in a Lloyds business account, and $146,000 (£110,214) in his PayPal account.
Apart from the two cars, Adnan’s house had furnishings and appliances that were well beyond his means as a tutor and an Amazon Flex delivery driver, according to the police.
How Did the Police Uncover His Fraud?
Adnan’s deeds actually came to light in February 2023 after a student handed over a pen drive to the computer forensics department at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).
The drive contained coursework completed by Adnan, but the student claimed to a senior manager that it was his own work. However, the manager’s scrutiny revealed that the USB stick had been used by Adnan, and documents on it linked it to a company run by Adnan called Study Sharp Ltd.
The manager’s investigation also led to an Excel spreadsheet that had details of other LJMU students, such as their personal login credentials to the LJMU network, study modules, and coursework due dates.
That prompted the manager to dig deeper, and he discovered Adnan was fraudulently taking exams on behalf of students by accessing the network and also submitting work.
As a result, the investigation was taken up by the Merseyside Police’s Cyber Dependent Crime Unit. A search warrant was then obtained for Adnan’s home address, which was followed by his arrest.
Adnan eventually admitted that he logged into the LJMU account using the student’s details, and also confessed to sitting in an exam on behalf of the student who gave him the pen drive. Adnan was paid around $330 for the service.
In his defense, Adnan said he was “not aware” that he needed authority from the university to log into the student’s account. However, he was charged with “counts of fraud by false representation, causing a computer to perform a function to secure or enable unauthorised access to a programme date, and money laundering.” [sic]
In September, Adnan pleaded guilty to the first two counts but denied the third at Bootle Magistrates’ Court. However, in October 2025, he admitted to money laundering at Liverpool Crown Court.
Adnan was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 17 June 2026 at Liverpool Crown Court. In addition, a schedule has been set to recover the money Adnan earned from his offense.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Andrew Madden of CPS Mersey Cheshire said in a statement:
“Pulling together the evidence in this case to expose Shahid Adnan’s criminality has been a challenging process.
“He created complex audit trails with his bank accounts to try and avoid detection and lived a lavish lifestyle to use up the money he made and avoid having to pay it back.
“He is a fraudster who wanted more than his declared employment could give him, so he turned to crime and tried to outwit the authorities.
“The Crown Prosecution Service would like to thank Merseyside Police and Liverpool John Moore’s University for their help in bringing this prosecution.” [sic]
It is not known whether any disciplinary action was taken against the students who paid Adnan to complete coursework or sit exams on their behalf.