Springer is investigating allegations of “middle school” plagiarism against an editor of one of its journals. In a strange tale, the editor is accused of working with a pair of researchers who eventually pulled their paper from consideration — and then publishing much of that paper later, naming himself and a retired judge from Arizona with no academic publication record as the sole co-author.

Amy Barnhorst, vice chair of psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, shared how the story began in a Twitter thread this week. And then she discussed it in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. Barnhorst didn’t name the journal in question, saying she didn’t want to “dox” the involved parties. But Retraction Watch (with help from scientific integrity consultant Elisabeth Bik) reported that it is Springer’s Journal of Health Service Psychiatry. The editor in question is Gary R. VandenBos, an emeritus professor of clinical psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway who worked as a publisher at the American Psychological Association through 2015.

Springer did not dispute the allegation, and a spokesperson said via email, “We will take necessary action as appropriate once an investigation into these concerns is complete, and will be able to provide updated information at that time.” None of the journal’s editors, including its editor in chief, responded to a request for comment through the journal’s website.

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