What are the penalties for federal financial aid fraud?
It should be noted that the official FAFSA application for financial aid carries warnings that financial aid fraud is a crime punishable by significant fines. However, multiple other charges, including mail fraud, are pending against everyone indicted in this particular scheme. Conviction for mail fraud, for example, carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000, or both for each count. What is Rio Salado’s current point of view regarding the investigation? President Linda M. Thor released a statement during the June 24, 2009 press conference that read: “As President of Rio Salado College, I want to express how proud I am of the staff of our Financial Aid Office for their stewardship of taxpayers’ funds. I commend them for being alert, vigilant, well-trained and cooperative. Federal financial aid is for the benefit of serious students wishing to better their lives and definitely not for misuse. We will not tolerate abuse of the system, and we will continue as a
