A Richmond, Texas man has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for a student financial aid fraud that ran for about five years and left victims with tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent loans.
Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih, 43, was sentenced on Wednesday by United States District Judge Andrew Hanen to 78 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty on 20 March to theft of government funds, fraud, unlawful use or transfer of identity documents, and aggravated identity theft.
Finnih, originally from Nigeria and a naturalised United States citizen, is a former adjunct professor at Texas Southern University. He was allowed to remain on bond and will surrender voluntarily to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility still to be determined.
Over roughly five years he submitted more than 100 fraudulent financial aid applications to the United States Department of Education. The applications used stolen identities of so called straw students at colleges and universities across Texas. He prepared, submitted and signed fraudulent financial aid applications and master promissory notes in the victims’ names. He also created mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email accounts that he controlled, so that he could intercept communications from the Department of Education and the schools.
Refunds were collected through electronic transfers, cheques and prepaid debit cards sent to addresses and bank accounts under his control. Investigators also found false identity documents in his possession, including temporary driver permits and identification cards, which he intended to use or transfer unlawfully as part of the scheme.
In a calculated step, Finnih often altered the names of female straw students so that they appeared male, while continuing to use the correct Social Security numbers and dates of birth. That made it easier for him to pose as the students and keep the fraud running. In at least one case he telephoned a local community college and tried to have financial aid payments unfrozen after the school had flagged fraudulent transcripts linked to one of the straw students.
The consequences fell on real people. Some victims were left with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans placed fraudulently in their names. Their credit was damaged and their ability to enrol in legitimate courses was hindered. As part of his guilty plea, Finnih admitted that he had repeatedly used the personal details of two specific victims over several years to obtain federal financial aid.
In total, the fraudulent applications sought more than 1.3 million dollars in grants and loans. Of that sum, 921,189.08 dollars was actually disbursed.
United States Attorney Aaron Reitz said higher education costs were already rising out of control, and that people such as Finnih made the system worse, more expensive and more damaging for everyone. He described the offences as manipulative, deceitful and un American, and said Finnih would now face the consequences.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Wingle, of the Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Central Regional Office, said he was proud of the work of OIG special agents and partner agencies in shutting down another student aid fraud ring and holding Finnih to account. He said the office would continue to pursue those who misappropriate education funds for their own purposes, because students and taxpayers deserved nothing less.
The investigation was led by the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Lone Star College Police Department, the United States Marshals Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Brad R. Gray prosecuted the case.
By A.Ikechukwu
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