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Six Former Employees Indicted for Swindling Federal Aid, Illinois 2023
CHICAGO — Six former employees of a non-profit Chicago post-secondary education institute schemed to enroll fake students in classes as part of a conspiracy to swindle federal financial aid programs out of millions of dollars, according to an indictment returned in federal court in Chicago.
The six defendants were employed at the Chicago campus of the Center for Employment Training, a California-based institution of post-secondary, non-degree, vocational and technical education with campuses throughout the country. From 2005 to 2013, the defendants applied for and obtained federal grants and loans for students who were ineligible to receive the funds, the indictment states.
One of the purported students was marked present at CET classes even though the student was deceased at the time, the indictment states. The scheme caused the U.S. Department of Education to disburse to CET millions of dollars in fraudulent financial aid, the indictment states.
The indictment was returned Thursday. It charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy to fraudulently obtain federal financial assistance, one count of fraudulently obtaining federal financial assistance, and three counts of wire fraud.
The defendants are MARIE PICKETT, 59, of Chicago; JANIE BLAKENEY, 63, of Chicago; DEBORAH WILLIAMS, 58, of Chicago; JENNY MORALES, 36, of Cicero; HEATHER SMITH, 43, of Cicero; and TAMAURA BALARK, 45, of Chicago.
According to the charges, Pickett served as the Director of CET’s Chicago campus; Blakeney was the Admissions Advisor; Williams and Morales were Financial Aid Officers; and Smith and Balark were instructors in the Medical Assistance Program.
Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the financial assistance fraud counts carry a maximum sentence of five years.
If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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