The ex-husband of former Georgia state employee pleaded guilty to participating in a scam that defrauded the U.S. government of more than $1.3 million.
According to an Oct. 4 U.S. Department of Justice news release, Kevin M. Gregory pleaded guilty to conspiring with his ex-wife Karen C. Lyke, a former Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) counselor, in a scheme to defraud the State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program. They allegedly falsified academic records and created fictitious students with disabilities and illnesses to receive financial benefits.
“Gregory and Lyke exploited a government program designed to empower some of the most vulnerable Americans to achieve their educational and vocational goals,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in the release. “Driven by greed, Gregory and Lyke forged medical, educational and financial records to invent sham students with non-existent disabilities, resulting in an elaborate conspiracy that swindled taxpayers out of more than $1.3 million.”
The couple allegedly used the names of their actual friends and relatives to create 13 fake disabled students and received more than $1.3 million in tuition assistance from the GVRA May 1026-November 2020, according to the release. The State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program is a federally funded program that provides money to states help individuals with disabilities.
“Gregory and Lyke stole money targeted for some of society’s most vulnerable,” Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Farley said in the release. "Their greedy actions also impact every taxpayer. The FBI, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to work tirelessly to hold accountable those who steal taxpayer funds.”
The couple also allegedly conspired to use Lyke's position as a GVRA counselor to steal several high-value computers from the GVRA, the release reported.
