Former Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) professor Francois Sainfort entered a guilty plea yesterday in Fulton County Superior Court to one felony count of False Statements and Writings (O.C.G.A. § 16‑10‑20). Judge T. Jackson Bedford sentenced Sainfort under the First Offender Act to five years probation and restitution in the amount of $43,578.00, which has already been satisfied.

Sainfort knowingly and willfully made a false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and representation in an e-mail dated February 11, 2008. Specifically, Sainfort stated that he and his wife had not signed an employment agreement with the University of Minnesota, when in fact they had entered into such a contract. The charge relates to Sainfort’s response to an inquiry from Georgia Tech about his and his wife’s full time employment at both Georgia Tech and the University of Minnesota.

Assistant Attorney General Greg Lohmeier prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of Georgia. The case was investigated by Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Wesley Horne. Georgia Tech Department of Internal Auditing assisted in the investigation.