INDIANAPOLIS- Reina Isom, 47, of Gainesville, Florida, has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to wire fraud and two counts of Federal financial aid fraud. Isom has also been ordered to pay $348,148 in restitution.
According to court documents, for nearly a decade, Isom devised and carried out an elaborate scheme to defraud the Department of Education out of nearly one million dollars in federal financial aid. At the time of these offenses, Isom was living in Muncie, Indiana.
To carry out her scheme, Isom first enrolled accomplices in low-cost, online colleges using their dates of birth, social security numbers, and other personal information. Isom then submitted Free Application for Federal Student Aid (“FAFSA”) forms online to apply for loans and grants for the “student.” In completing and submitting these forms, Isom lied by leaving blank portions requesting information about the student’s income, their spouse’s income, and their parents’ income. Her purpose in providing false financial information was to increase the amount of financial aid awarded by the Office of Federal Student Aid (“FSA).
To profit from these efforts, she directed that the excess financial aid be refunded to bank accounts or reloadable debit cards controlled by her or others with whom she conspired.
To ensure the financial aid kept flowing, Isom did far more than submit fraudulent forms. She also ensured that these “students” stayed enrolled by completing coursework, including writing papers and recording video speeches. To pull this off, Isom submitted assignments that had been copied and pasted from other purported students who had taken the courses in previous terms. Most of the time, this meant merely submitting the same assignment repeatedly, only changing the name of the student.
In total, Isom submitted more than 50 fraudulent FAFSA applications for more than a dozen different individuals, causing over $930,000 in federal financial aid to be fraudulently dispersed. Of these funds, more than $340,000 were deposited into her personal bank accounts or loaded onto debit cards she controlled.
Isom has been convicted of fraud on two prior occasions. In 2004, Isom paid an individual $3,000 to start a fire in an apartment she had recently insured against fire damage. She was convicted of arson with intent to defraud. In 2011, Isom was found guilty of fraud for enrolling fake students in the University of Phoenix online school and completing fraudulent FAFSA forms, as well as applying for credit cards using stolen identities.
“Federal financial aid programs play a critical role in opening the doors to higher education for individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “When someone abuses these programs, they don’t just break the law—they potentially steal a life-changing opportunity from a first-generation student or someone from an underserved community. We will not hesitate to pursue and prosecute those who shamelessly exploit public resources for personal profit.”
“I’m proud of the work of OIG special agents and our law enforcement colleagues for shutting down yet another student aid fraud ring and holding Ms. Isom accountable for her criminal actions,” said Scott Wingle, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Central Regional Office. “The Office of Inspector General is committed to stopping student aid fraud rings, and we will continue to aggressively pursue anyone who participates in them.”
The Department of Education-Office of Inspector General investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Eakman and Meredith Wood, who prosecuted this case.