Fraud-accused Eran Eyal offering three immigrant students scholarships at $3600 each

SA entrepreneur and former Springleap founder Eran Eyal, who faces fraud charges in the US, pledged this week to offer three post-secondary scholarships, at $3600 each.

The announcement by Eyal (pictured above) on Wednesday (23 October) of his scholarship follows a legal letter that his lawyer issued several media houses with last month, offering “reimbursement” to publications that remove articles that refer to his Springleap case and current startup Shopin (see this story).

The SA entrepreneur was charged on 24 August last year by the New York Attorney General with allegedly stealing $600,000 from investors by fraudulently soliciting investors to purchase convertible notes through false representations of his company, Springleap. If convicted of the top count charged, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Eyal claims he is innocent of the charges and the case is ongoing. Eyal is due to appear next in court on 6 November.

Eran Eyal was charged last year with allegedly stealing $600,000 from investors, but says he is innocent

In Wednesday’s announcement he notes that to qualify candidates must submit a 500-word essay “detailing the hardship of immigrating to the United States to pursue a post-secondary education”, including how they aim to use the scholarship to achieve academic and financial success. The deadline for applications is December 10.

Writes Eyal: “When I eventually made my way over to the US in 2014, it was very challenging. The United States is brimming with enormous promise and opportunity, especially for tech entrepreneurs such as myself.

“The barriers are however, significant. Costs are high, rentals are astronomical and require immigrants to have six to 12 months rent upfront or guarantors. Loans are difficult to access.

“I want to help pave the way for tomorrow’s promising entrepreneurs and thought leaders and believe that immigrants are part of the backbone of the future of this amazing country.

“Somewhere in the coming generational wave is the next Satya Nadella, Elon Musk, Johnny Ives, Charlize Theron, or Trevor Noah. I firmly believe that access to quality education is one of the absolutely essential tools for the next generation of talent, that will form the backbone of America’s economy, society and innovation.”

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Featured image: Former Springleap founder Eran Eyal (Facebook)