Financial Aid Fraud Brings Up 64 Defendants On Charges

With financial aid being one of the most popular forms of college funding these days, the opportunity for dishonest people to try and play the system for a little bit of extra cash is more prominent today than it has ever been before. This opportunity was just too good to be true for 64 people in Phoenix, Arizona that are now being brought up on charges.

Over $500,000 was involved in this particular financial aid fraud case.

In fact, this was the most defendants ever seen in court being charged as part of a financial aid scam. It goes to show that even though financial aid is easier to get today than it used to be, the government is still going to be there protecting the money that taxpayers have provided for college funding.

This scam consisted of students acting as students of Rio Salado College. However, none of these students would ever plan on attending this college. False financial aid applications would be submitted, thus making the college authorize the financial aid distribution to these bogus students.

This happened between July 2006 and October 2007. It’s quite a bit longer than we’d expect the government to catch something this big, but they finally did.

Sentences being handed out to each of the 64 defendants charged.

Sentences ranging from house arrest and fines to several years and prison with a half million dollars being ordered to be paid back to the US government are being handed out. While we’re not at the completion of this case, sentencing for this financial aid scam should be wrapped up pretty quickly.

No matter how bad times are, this is something that shouldn’t even be considered. Financial aid is there for the students who are willing to pursue their education with it, not people just wanting to stick the money in their pocket and walk away without even attending the first day of college. If you get caught performing any form of financial aid fraud, be ready to face some stiff punishment.

For more on this financial aid scam, visit KVOA.com.

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Tags: college financial aid, college funding, false financial aid applications, Financial Aid, phoenix financial aid, Rio Salado College, student aid