DENVER - Tramell Thomas, age 40, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced late last week to serve 120 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release for his participation in a financial aid fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn and Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of the Inspector General’s Western Regional Office Adam Shanedling. Thomas was also ordered to pay $563,890.85 in restitution to the Department of Education and various community colleges. The court also issued a final order of forfeiture for a personal money judgment in the amount of $260,226.85.
Thomas was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the government through the submission of 181 false Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSAs). Thomas was also convicted of six counts of aiding and abetting mail fraud resulting from the mailing of debit cards that contained federal student aid to addresses under the conspirators’ control.
In sum, the conspirators visited Department of Corrections websites for the states of Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio, and they retrieved the names, dates of birth, and release dates of state inmates. Armed with this information, one of the conspirators obtained these inmates’ social security numbers through her employment at a bank. Once the conspirators had this information, they filled out FAFSAs requesting federal student aid to attend community colleges in Colorado and Arizona. The conspirators chose inmates serving long prison sentences, believing that these inmates were less likely to notice that their identities had been stolen. All told, the conspirators filed claims seeking approximately $1.3 million dollars. The Department of Education paid out approximately $563,000, with $419,000 of these funds forwarded to the conspirators in the form of debit cards, which they used for their personal expenses. The remainder of the money was paid to the community colleges. Once the fraud was discovered, those colleges returned the funds to the Department of Education. Thomas’s conspirators, Heather Carr, Mercedes Diaz, and Marcelle Green, all pled guilty and are serving their prison sentences.
“Defrauding the government is a crime against not only the Department of Education, it is a fraud against the taxpayers," said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. “This prison sentence is a reflection of that fact."
“I am proud of the work of OIG Special Agents and our law enforcement partners for their work in this case and their dedication to protecting the integrity of Federal student aid funds and students that rely on those funds to make their dreams of higher education a reality," said Adam Shanedling, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Western Regional Office. "We will continue to pursue those who participate in student aid fraud rings and criminally target these funds for their own selfish purpose. America’s students and taxpayers deserve nothing less."
This case was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Martha Paluch and Bryan Fields.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
