I have a friend who lied to financial aid office at the college she attends she told him she didn’t attend colleges that she did and gave them the falsified letters saying they were from the colleges the financial aid office caught on to what she did and reported her to the Department of Education Inspector General what will happen to her now?
Also, she did not receive any aid from the school if that makes a difference. She also confessed what she did and, is willing to corporate fully with any consequence so longs as she doesn’t have to go to jail.
“She also confessed what she did and, is willing to corporate fully with any consequence so longs as she doesn’t have to go to jail.”
She just has to sit back and wait until her current college/university decides what to do about this. None of us can predict for her.
She needs a lawyer.
You can’t mount a defense until you know what you are being charged with.
The issue likely isn’t whether she got money from the college she lied to, but more whether she got FEDERAL funds for either the first or second institution under false pretenses.
Agree that a consult with a lawyer would be a good first step.
Your friend needs a lawyer. Beyond that…I would suggest you let her handle this.
They told her that they reported her to the Dept of education? I didn’t realize they were informed until the investigation was commenced.
I remember reading a news several years ago about something like that. You probably can search on the web to find that old news.
According to this [legal aid website](Consequences of Filing a Fraudulent Claim for Student Financial Aid), you can get in trouble even if you didn’t get any grants. Obtaining loans under false pretenses is a felony. This student needs a lawyer and shouldn’t speak to anyone unless her representative is present.
I am not sure what the OP means by “forged letters” but in a nutshell entering fraudulent information into your FAFSA application is fraud and is a federal offense.
She actually gave the letters to the Admissions office because financial aid told them they could see she had attended colleges before when processing her fafsa. So in fear that she would get kicked out for not telling she had attended college. So when they asked her for those transcripts she said it must be a mistake and, they told her to get a letter from each school stating she hadn’t attended. The admissions counsler showed them to the financial aid counselor who didn’t believe her and contacted each school. They decided to report her. So, she wasn’t trying to defraud she was trying to get an academic fresh start. She just went about it all wrong.
It doesn’t matter if the “him” she lied to was in admissions or financial aid. She submitted a FAFSA claiming she’d never attended college before. Students who qualify for federal and state grants can get them for a certain number of semesters so when you file the FAFSA and claim to have never attended college, it looks suspiciously like you’re trying to get more aid than you’re qualified to receive. That’s financial aid fraud and I believe it’s a felony.
You can’t just pretend previous college work doesn’t exist. It was beyond foolish forge letters and lie on the a FAFSA. This student can’t hide behind ignorance of the rules; she knew transcripts were required. Even after she was caught, she forged letters in an attempt to cover her tracks. This is a serious issue.
How old is the student? Have her parents been made aware of the situation yet? If not, they should be. I suspect she’s in deep trouble and the family needs to consult a lawyer.
There is no acedemic fresh start. Trying to do this could be a felony…The DOE IG is bad news. They are the ones who decide whether to file charges. Get a lawyer and wait and see.
All true. I don’t think she attended to do anything illegal. But, what she did was immoral.
By a “fresh start”, I take it to mean that she was entering as freshman and, therefore, wanted four years of financial aid. There’s a ** lifetime limit ** to how much federal student loans and Pell Grants a person may receive.
By lying about her previous college year(s), she might be busting those limits and defrauding the gov’t of money she isn’t legally eligible for.
From Penn State to State Pen…
Yeah I don’t think she really understood the severity of her actions but, hopefully everything will work out and she’ll learn from this experience.
Whether or not it was immoral is immaterial. Falsifying a FAFSA and forging letters are illegal. Her problems aren’t with the etiquette mavens, they’re with the feds.
Yeah I understand
So if jail term isn’t taken off the table, she won’t cooperate? Since the fraud is obvious, she’s not in the position to be dictating terms.
No, that’s not what I meant. I meant she’s is scared. Her parents got a lawyer. After looking into everything it seems that the law is if aid awarded is under $200 it would be a misdemeanor and since she didn’t get awarded at all that’s all it will be. There is a possible fine and up to a year in jail. Hopefully everything will work out for. But, it’s sad