Louisiana Man Sentenced to Prison for Student Aid Fraud Totaling Over $74,000

New Orleans, Louisiana – A man from Louisiana has been sentenced to prison for student aid fraud amounting to more than $74,000.

On May 4, 2023, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Robert John, age 48, from St. Bernard, Louisiana, was sentenced on May 3, 2023 for conspiring to commit student aid fraud.

According to court filings, John and others conspired to submit fraudulent student loan and grant applications to two local community colleges, using the names of seven different applicants. The Department of Education paid out approximately $74,000 in loan and grant funding as a result of the bogus applications. All applicants’ applications contained false information, and several applicants did not even qualify for community college because they had not completed high school or obtained GEDs.

John was sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, $74,576.10 in restitution to the Department of Education, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee by United States District Court Judge Lance M. Africk.

“I’m proud of the work of OIG special agents and our law enforcement colleagues in shutting down yet another student aid fraud ring and holding the ringleader accountable for his criminal actions,” said Edd Cole, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General’s Southwestern Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Education. “The OIG is committed to fighting student aid fraud and we will continue to aggressively pursue those that participate in these types of crimes.”

The work of the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service was lauded by U.S. Attorney Evans. The prosecution is overseen by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas D. Moses, Health Care Fraud Coordinator.