Laiba Ejaz Case: Suspect Allegedly Used ChatGPT in US Visa Fraud

Police in Islamabad say the man accused of cheating IIUI gold medallist Laiba Ejaz out of Rs9.3 million used ChatGPT to pretend to be other people and make a fake US study offer look real. Police sources shared this claim on Monday, October 12, the same day a court sent the prime suspect, Muhammad Noman, into police custody for five days.

Laiba completed her BS in Physics at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) with a gold medal. She wanted to do her master's in the United States. She was found dead in Islamabad's G-10 sector on October 9, and police are treating it as a suspected suicide. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has said the fraud and the mental pressure that came with it were behind her death. All allegations against the suspects are still under investigation and have not been proved in court.

How the Fake Identities Worked

According to investigators, Noman told Laiba he could get her a US visa through a woman named Aiza. He said Aiza ran a shop and that her brother lived in the United States. Police sources now say there was no real Aiza. They allege Noman made an online account in her name and ran it himself.

Police believe he used ChatGPT to write the messages that came from "Aiza" and from her "brother". This helped him answer Laiba's questions quickly and in a believable way. As a result, she thought several real people were working on her admission, when it was allegedly one man behind all of them.

Police also say Noman deleted data from his mobile phone before he was arrested. His phone and other devices will now go through a forensic check to recover the deleted messages. Police sources say they suspect he may have cheated other women too, and they want to find out if anyone else was targeted.

The Harvard Promise and the Money Paid

Laiba's family says she was promised admission and a scholarship at Harvard University. Her maternal uncle, Rana Amjad, told the media the family was told it would pay 20 percent of the cost, and the university would cover the other 80 percent.

This was not a rich family. Laiba's father, Muhammad Ijaz, sells milk on a motorcycle, and the family lives in a rented flat. Relatives say they sold a plot of land and jewellery to raise the money. Laiba herself worked as a private tutor to support her dream.

The FIR, registered on her father's complaint, says the suspect promised a US study visa for Rs9.3 million. Her father says he paid Rs2.1 million in cash in front of witnesses, and Laiba sent another Rs2.9 million to the suspect's bank account. Noman allegedly gave them fake admission letters, scholarship letters, fee receipts and a forged receipt showing a payment of $20,000. The family also says he took Rs500,000 more by promising a government job for Laiba's brother.

How the Fraud Came to Light

The first warning sign was the visa interview. Laiba was told she had a date for her US visa interview, but the date kept changing. Reports say appointments were set and then cancelled shortly before the day came.

Laiba then started checking the papers herself. When the family contacted Harvard, they learned the documents were fake. The FIR says that when her father questioned Noman, he stopped answering his calls, while "Aiza" kept asking Laiba for more money. Her family says this left her under severe stress.

Who Is the Suspect?

The FIA says Noman was not a registered education consultant or visa agent. FIA officials say he falsely told people he worked as an accounts officer in the superior courts. According to the family, he sometimes claimed to work at the Islamabad High Court and at other times said he was an officer of a sensitive institution.

Media reports citing sources say he once worked at the Anti Corruption Establishment in Quetta but was suspended. These claims about his past have not yet been officially confirmed. The FIA case also names a woman, Fatima Sarwar, as his alleged accomplice, and some reports say women have been taken into custody. Police have not shared full details about their roles.

Arrest, Remand and Government Action

The case moved fast after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of it. The FIA's Anti Human Trafficking Circle in Islamabad registered a case on October 10 against Noman and Fatima Sarwar, and their names were put on the stop list so they could not leave the country. That same night, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Laiba's family. He called it a "test case" for the authorities and said he would follow it personally.

Noman was arrested from the H-13 area of Islamabad. On October 12, he was brought before Judicial Magistrate Zunaira Zafar at the Islamabad District and Sessions Courts with his face covered. Police asked for ten days of physical remand, but the court gave five. During this time, investigators will question him, check his devices and verify the evidence before he is produced in court again.

What Students and Parents Should Check

Thousands of Pakistani students apply to US universities every year, and this case shows how easily a family's savings can be lost. A real admission comes directly from the university. You can check it by writing to the admissions office using the email address listed on the university's official website, not one given by an agent.

A real US student visa also follows a fixed process. The university issues a form called the I-20, the student pays the official fees, and the student books the visa interview through the official US visa appointment system. If someone else keeps "arranging" and changing your interview date, treat it as a serious warning. Scholarships from US universities are given by the university itself and do not need a middle man.

Free and honest guidance is available through EducationUSA advising centres run by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP). Fraud can be reported to the FIA and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency. The Laiba case also shows a new risk: a polite, well written message is no proof that a real person or office is behind it, because tools like ChatGPT can now write such messages in seconds.

If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or under heavy stress, please talk to a trusted person or call the Umang mental health helpline at 0311 7786264.