6 leaders from former Columbus theology school accused of stealing $12M in student aid
Six people associated with a former Columbus theology school have been charged with defrauding $12 million from federal student aid programs, authorities said.
Indicted in the alleged scheme were Sandra Anderson, 61; Leo Frank Thomas, 54; and Yolanda Thomas, 50, all of Columbus; Kristina Parker, 33, of Stone Mountain; Erica Montgomery, 47, of Fort Mitchell, Alabama; and Dorothy Webb, 68, of Las Vegas, prosecutors said.
A federal grand jury for the Middle District of Georgia that includes Columbus charged them with one count of conspiracy and five counts each of mail fraud and financial aid fraud. Anderson and Montgomery also were charged with money laundering, investigators said.
According to the indictment, they engaged in a scheme to operate the off-site learning center in Columbus on behalf of Apex, a now-defunct school that was headquartered in Durham, N.C., with satellite learning centers offering instruction in theology and other subjects.
The suspects allegedly recruited others to act as students to apply for federal financial aid. Those posing as students did no work and attended no classes, but split their financial aid with the defendants, who used those funds to enrich themselves, the feds said.
The indictment says each acted in the these roles:
- Montgomery, who owned and operated a tax-preparation business called Dylon Tax Service, recruited for the Columbus center.
- Anderson directed the Columbus center.
- Leo Frank Thomas and Yolanda Brown Thomas, who are married, were instructors at the center.
- Webb, who lived in Columbus and in Las Vegas, also was an instructor.
- Parker was an administrative assistant.
‘Spiritual journey’
The indictment says they plagiarized work for the fake students, took tests and used the school’s website to make it appear to the Department of Education that they were actual students making academic progress. They created fake email accounts and log-ins for posting classwork online, and false GEDs to satisfy requirements that those enrolled had high school diplomas, investigators said.
Montgomery told recruits up front that they could get “free money” without doing any school work, the feds allege. To get those recruits enrolled, she, Anderson and Parker not only falsified applications, but included fake “spiritual autobiographies” claiming to reflect each recruit’s “spiritual journey,” the indictment says.
Listing emails exchanged in the scheme, the indictment includes one Webb sent a student on March 13, 2017: “I registered you for the fall 2017. Christmas will be coming up and I figured you can use the extra cash for that.”
The emails were sent between August 2011 and October 2017, the indictment says.
The funds came from federal student loan programs and from Pell Grants, which are intended only for students with “exceptional” financial need, according to the federal website studentaid.gov.
Agents from the Atlanta offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service joined in the probe.
“The alleged blatant abuse of a federally funded program by a purported religious affiliated school is an insult to all taxpayers,” said Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of the FBI in Atlanta. “All citizens lose, including students who work hard to earn such funds who may be denied because of the alleged fraud.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 11:13 AM.