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Timothy Lance Lai, 29, was charged with one count of felony burglary
and four counts of felony fraud after he was arrested at the Los
Angeles International Airport on Monday, the Newport Beach police
said in a statement.
Lai, who fled the United States after the investigation started,
broke into Corona Del Mar High School last year and installed a USB
device that recorded keystrokes on a teacher's computer, the police
said.
He then accessed the school's network using the keystroke data and
changed three students' grades between April and June 2013, the
police said.
A teacher discovered the grade changes and contacted school
administrators, who called in police. Police later found a separate
USB device on another teacher's computer.
If convicted, Lai could face a maximum sentence of five years and
eight months in jail. At his arraignment, officials will request
that Lai be held on $200,000 bail.
The cheating scandal at the highly-ranked school led to the
expulsion of 11 students and the resignation of the district
administrator, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Newport Beach is about 45 miles (72 km) south of Los Angeles.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
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