PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix says the final defendant out of 64 involved in a massive scheme to defraud the government of $500,000 in student loans has been sentenced.
All of the defendants plead guilty to charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, financial aid fraud and theft of government funds.
Prosecutors say the scheme's ringleader, Trenda Halton, was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay $581,000 in restitution.
From July 2006 through October 2007, prosecutors say Halton and others recruited individuals to act as "straw students" in order to apply for federal financial aid at Rio Salado College.
The applicants were neither active students at Rio Salado nor did they intend to become active students.
Online:
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/az/
