Dive Summary:
- Federal officials announced Tuesday that prosecutors have charged 17 people in California for their alleged involvement in six separate student-aid fraud rings, collectively defrauding the federal government of more than $770,000 in financial aid.
- The office of the U.S. attorney in Sacramento brought charges against another fraud ring earlier this year involving four people and more than $200,000 in disbursed financial aid, and prosecutors say the leaders of the fraud schemes used a variety of tactics and primarily took advantage of online educational programs at community colleges.
- Education Department officials have increasingly focused on aid fraud in response to a report from the department's inspector general and calls from lawmakers, and a panel was formed in April to draft new federal student-aid regulations to crack down on such fraud.
From the article:
Prosecutors have charged 17 people in California over the past several weeks for their alleged involvement in six separate student-aid fraud rings, federal officials announced on Tuesday. The U.S. attorney in Sacramento, Benjamin B. Wagner, said that the defendants collectively had defrauded the federal government of more than $770,000 in financial aid. ...