Here is what can happen if you fake your residency in Georgia order to get in state tuition

Parents Forum
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<p>The dad figured he wouldn’t get caught. But he may have bragged about scoring instate tuition in Georgia to one too many people, since someone turned him in. The authorities had to investigate and it probably wasn’t that tough to find he was submitting conflicting information and was not really using that apartment much. Even though he has paid the money back, he still could get jail time . Even if he doesn’t get jail time, his name (which is uncommon) is all over the internet now. He has at minimum embarrassed himself and his family, all to save a few bucks. And his daughter has had to leave a school she loved. </p>

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<p>I don’t understand how a person managed to submit “tax statements with conflicting information” without flags being raised.</p>

<p>On the online undergrad. application for our state flagship as soon as our sons answered “yes” to “Are you applying for in-state status” (probably not phrased exactly that way), they were asked about the parents’ history of filing state income taxes. </p>

<p>Do colleges rely on an honor system when that question is answered? Do they check to see that applicants’ parents did, indeed, pay state income taxes? (As a military family we had to submit extra information because we were requesting instate status but did not pay state income taxes.)</p>

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<p>It IS curious how this happened, eastcoascrazy. . UGA seems to have some pretty strict guidelines and the daughter graduated from high school in Virginia. <a href=“https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/residency-for-in-state-tuition.html”>https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/residency-for-in-state-tuition.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I think that Georgia is making an example of this case as they caught this person redhanded and beyond doubt. It happens a lot that folks find a way to get instate status that is not right, but may not be outright fraud. Our one son goes to an OOS public, and there were ways that, yes, we could have gotten instate status, as we once lived there and have friends and family there. Some schools make the process easier than others. From what I;m reading, schools are tightening up the rules. </p>

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<p>I’m glad he was caught but I don’t think prison time is the answer. He should have to pay back the taxpayers/school along with a hefty fine, but what good does it do anyone to make him pay back scamming the taxpayers by making them pay for his living expenses over the next x months or years in jail? We already spend WAY too much on prisons in this country. </p>

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<p>Some token and inexpensive amount of time in jail – like a week – might be plenty to be a strong deterrent to the middle-class parents who pull this kind of scam.</p>

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<p>The article seems to suggest that the were acting on a “tip” when they commenced the investigation. </p>

<p>Rules are rules, but I have always disliked rules that get enforced infrequently and selectively without any effort to make it difficult to scam the system. If people are doing this , I want to see some time and effort put into catching the majority of them, rather than making an example out of the one that you stumble across. </p>

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<p>In response to M2CK and LakeWashington’s off-topic comments taking some swipes at illegal immigrants, let me clear a few things up. This is Georgia, a strong red state. M2CK’s suggestion that the authorities would have been less harsh towards an illegal immigrant in the same situation as Mr. Mortemousque is absurd. LakeWashington’s comments on the Jessica Colotl case are incorrect. Let’s revisit the Atlanta Journal-Constitution coverage, rather than relying on somebody’s vague recollections attributing extra crimes to the young woman:</p>

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<p>Mr. Kuck was my immigration attorney. As one of this country’s top immigration lawyers, his fees are not inexpensive. However I like to reflect that at least part of the fees I paid went to support pro bono work on behalf of young people like Ms. Colotl, who through no fault of their own become trapped in the situation of growing up in the country but not able to legally live here.</p>

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<p>Good! Glad they caught the scam artist. Turns my stomach when people lie or cheat, like when claiming to be dirt poor and taking $$$$ of need based aid while bragging about retirement, investments and travel </p>

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<p>Send the boob back to Virginia. By all means charge him, fine him, and then send him back. But we certainly don’t need any more people in prison in this country. I didn’t know about Jessica Colotal, but I hope she gets to finish her education. I’m glad to think that you helped her, however obliquely, weatherga. She sounds like the kind of person we need more of in this country, people like my own immigrant grandparents.</p>

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<p>I misspoke about her scholarship and thus you take leave to be rather arrogant and flippant. Not a very good way to evoke support for your position. By the way, why did you leave out the report of Ms. Colotl lying (and presenting a bogus document) prior to her arrest? Off topic? Not really. This thread is about someone who lied to garner a benefit from a college.</p>

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<p>True LakeWashington and the bottom line is that deceit is deceit…there isn’t such an OK thing as “little bit of deceit”</p>

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<p>Prison should be reserved for those who are a danger to others, physically, or repeat offenders. Heavy fines and a felony on the record should suffice for the rest. We have too many people in prison in this country.</p>

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<p>I do think colleges should go after parents who try to defraud them. There is a case at Harvard of parents who are being prosecuted for falsifying financial records. They got about $50,000 a year in financial aid from Harvard that they were not entitled to and Harvard and federal prosecutors are going after them. <a href=“Feds Allege Parents of 2013 Grad Defrauded College of Financial Aid Funding | News | The Harvard Crimson”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/7/6/2013-parents-financial-aid-suit/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Bernie Madoff would be thrilled to hear that he should have never gone to prison.</p>

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<p>hahaha! @dadinator I thought of that after I made that post. Of course, we could get silly here too. :-j </p>

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<p>Dadinator: BOOM!!!</p>

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<p>yeah, not so much BOOM!!! as a cap gun if we are comparing Madoff to this guy. B-) </p>

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<p>If rich people knew all they would have to do if caught defrauding others of $, is pay it back, what is the incentive not to do it? Ok, they’d have a criminal record, but if they are wealthy, they don’t have to worry about getting hired somewhere.</p>

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<p>What country are you living in? It’s not the connected and wealthy who are going to prison.</p>