U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Randolph Stanley, age 44, of Lexington Park, Maryland, yesterday to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Judge Chuang also ordered that Stanley must pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which is at least $5,648,238, the outstanding balance on all federal student loans that Stanley obtained on behalf of himself and others as part of the scheme.
The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Terry Harris of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General (DOE-OIG) Eastern Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Mid-Atlantic Field Office.
As detailed in court documents and his plea agreement, from about 2006 until approximately 2021, Stanley and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Education.
Specifically, Stanley, was employed as a Financial Advisor at University 1, headquartered in Adelphi, Maryland, and his co-conspirators recruited over 60 individuals (“Student Participants”) to apply for and enroll in post-graduate programs at more than eight academic institutions, including University 1 and University 2 (“the Schools”).
Stanley and his co-conspirators told Student Participants that they would assist with the coursework for these programs, including completing assignments and participating in online classes on behalf of the Student Participants, in exchange for a fee. As a result, the Student Participants fraudulently received credit for the courses, and in many cases, degrees from the Schools, without doing the necessary work.
Stanley also admitted that he and his co-conspirators directed the Student Participants to apply for federal student loans. Many of the Student Participant were not qualified for the programs to which they applied.
Student Participants, as well as Stanley himself, were awarded tuition, which went directly to the Schools and at least 60 Student Participants also received student loan refunds, which the Schools disbursed to Student Participants after collecting the tuition. Stanley, as the ringleader of the scheme, kept a portion of each of the students’ loan refunds.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DOE-OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter Cooch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Grossi, who handled the sentencing.
