[bencollier49]

I'd like to know whether the police have ever been brought in for a scenario like this. It may not seem as clear cut as regular financial fraud, but the end goal is to further one's career, which results in monetary gain. As such, this does seem to fall within most countries' definition of fraud. For example, from the UK:

Fraud by false representation

(1) A person is in breach of this section if he—

(a) dishonestly makes a false representation, and

(b) intends, by making the representation—

(i) to make a gain for himself or another