In the summer of 2011, Diederik Stapel was accused of research fraud. It became the lead story in the Netherlands and would dominate headlines for months. Overnight, Stapel went from being a respected professor to perhaps the biggest con man in academic science.

Questions:
1. How did Stapel commit the fraud?
2. Why did Stapel do this? Discuss this question in terms of the Fraud Triangle.
3. Was this a victimless fraud? Discuss.
4. How long did the fraud last and what was the extent of the fraud in terms of academic works?

Source:
Bhattacharjee, Y. (2013). The Mind of a Con Man. The New York Times, April 26 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/magazine/diederik-stapels-audacious-academic-fraud.html?hp&pagewanted=all)