Nydira Adams, also known as Nadira Adams and Nadira Adams-McMillan, was sentenced to two years in prison for orchestrating a scheme that involved submitting false documents to the United States Department of Education in order to exploit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The sentencing was announced on July 31 by Jamie McDonald, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamila Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Regional Office, and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
According to court documents and statements made during sentencing before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote, Adams charged federal student loan borrowers thousands of dollars for her services while using misrepresentations and false statements to qualify them for loan forgiveness under federal programs. The scheme sought to cause over $6 million in losses to the Department of Education by submitting applications with fabricated employment details and other inaccuracies about borrowers’ eligibility.
“Nydira Adams defrauded the Department of Education out of millions of dollars and preyed upon individuals seeking relief from federal student loan debt,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “Through lies, misrepresentations, and false documents, Adams abused the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program—a federal program intended to benefit individuals who dedicate at least 10 years of their careers to public service or non-profit work. And she did so to enrich herself. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message: individuals who swindle the Government and taxpayer-funded programs will be held accountable.”
Jamila Davis said, “Nydira Adams thought she could game the system and would not get caught, but she was wrong. The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who abuse the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program or any Federal education program for their own selfish purposes. America’s taxpayers and students deserve nothing less.”
Ketty Larco-Ward added, “Through lying, cheating, and manipulation, Ms. Adams devised a scheme to defraud the Department of Education and her clients by depicting herself as someone who held proprietary information on DOE programs, cheating those who truly needed student loan forgiveness and other assistance from the Department of Education… Her actions are unconscionable and today’s sentence sends a message that no matter who you claim to be when you lie and steal from the public postal inspectors and their law enforcement partners will be there to bring you justice for your criminal activity.”
In addition to her prison term, Adams was sentenced to three years supervised release.