The former Pikesville (Md.) High School athletic director who was arrested for allegedly using artificial intelligence to frame the school's principal may have used fake transcripts to the land the job at the school.
According to Fox 5 News, school districts around the country found glaring errors in Dazhon Darien's resume, but Baltimore County Public School hired him to the position of athletic director with a six-figure salary.
In April Darien was charged by police with disrupting school activities after Baltimore County Police said he created a falsified audio recording using artificial intelligence of principal Eric Eiswert in January.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the audio clip, which uses Eiswert's actual voice, went viral and was condemned by the Baltimore County community. The school was inundated with calls of outrage and required increased police presence and additional counselors.
A Maryland Department of Education report obtained by Fox News 5 appears to show that Darien faked his own college transcripts to try to get teaching jobs around the country, including in Baltimore County.
Through a public records request with MSDE, Project Baltimore received documents showing Darien applied for a Maryland teaching license in February of 2024. In June, a few months later, MSDE recommended a “permanent denial” of that license.
A number of other falsified records were found in Darien's records, including transcripts that appear to be fake that show he earned a doctorate in 2023 from St. Edwards University in Texas.
At a press conference in May, superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers was asked if she could explain how Darien was hired.
“Part of our hiring process includes some very specific steps,” replied Dr. Rogers, who added that the school system followed the standard process before hiring Darien. The process includes checking references and credentials in addition to a criminal background check and fingerprinting."
Rogers' response doesn't appear to answer the question, and the school has since refused to comment on the matter.
