Student Loan Fraud Ring Indicted for Scamming $400,000 From Feds
Fifteen people were indicted Friday in South Carolina for their roles in an alleged student loan scam that defrauded more than $400,000 in financial aid from the federal government.
A 25-page indictment from the U.S. District Court of South Carolina, Charleston Division, alleged that the defendants, beginning in 2006, helped other individuals apply for grants and take out student loans to enroll in for-profit college online programs at the University of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University, and Capella University, even though those individuals never intended to go to college.
According to the indictment, after student loan checks were sent to the colleges, and tuition and fees were deducted by the schools, the balances were passed on to the addresses supplied by the ring. Balance checks ranging from $219 to $4,703 were mailed to undisclosed addresses in North Charleston, Walterboro, Green Pond, Ruffin, Fairfax, Yemassee, and Cottageville. In all, more than $400,000 worth of federal grants and federal student loans were distributed to individuals who were not eligible to receive financial aid, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean H. Secor of the Charleston office said (“7 Fraud Suspects are From Colleton,” The Post and Courier, Feb. 21, 2012).
Defendants listed in the indictment included Shannon Fishburne, 32, Marquita Fishburne, 23, Tameko Fishburne, 29, Shanean Glaze, 31, Lena Gant, 48, and Deena Holmes, 39, all of Walterboro; Cleo Fryar (also known as Cleo Cooper), 38, of Ruffin; Kourtney Fishburne, 26, of Davenport, Fla.; Sierra Thomas, 23, of Beaufort; Helen Ross, 41, of Williston; Betty Kinard, 61, of Allendale; Latanya Cochran, 40, of Orangeburg; Marvin Spell, 49, of Yemassee; and Mayella Saxon, 49, and Theresa Loadholt, 50, both of Fairfax.
The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and financial aid fraud. Secor said that, for now, he could not release more information about the case. However, he said that aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory prison sentence of two years, which runs consecutively to other convictions, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Secor also noted that the maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
Thats not the only scam going on with The University of Phoenix.They also take your student loan money, then decide that they will charge you again for the class. So now i owe 10,000 in student loans as well as have a negative on my credit for money they claim that i owe them, when all my classes were covered with student loans. I really hope this company gets what it deserves they have ruined alot of people.