A former director of financial aid at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond is accused of running a nearly decade-long scheme to steal state and federal student aid funding.
Kiesha L. Pope, 47, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on five counts of fraud and theft. The indictment alleges that Pope, who led the community college’s aid office from 2006 to 2017, used her position to illegally boost the financial aid eligibility of friends and family. In exchange, the indictment alleges Pope received a cut of the grant and loan funding, which she spent on car repairs, shopping trips and her daughter.
Pope could not be reached for comment. The indictment was filed in a federal court in Richmond.
Prosecutors say Pope falsified the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for her son from 2011 to 2017 to secure money, knowing he was not attending classes. He received about $117,708 in refund disbursements during that time, half of which went to his mother, according to the indictment. When Pope’s son was placed on financial aid suspension for failing to meet academic requirements, she allegedly placed him on probation to keep the money rolling in, according to the indictment.
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The indictment alleges Pope engaged in a similar scheme with her ex-fiance while he was incarcerated and not attending Reynolds, as well as her cousin and goddaughter. All told, Pope is alleged to have misappropriated nearly $380,000 in state and federal financial aid funds.
Share this articleShareIn the case of her goddaughter, the community college’s central business office became suspicious of the level of financial aid she was receiving while only taking three to six credits, according to the indictment. When questioned, Pope said the goddaughter had cancer and requested additional aid because of her high medical bills. Prosecutors say Pope forged a medical report to cover up the deception.
As Pope’s supervisors continued to question the disbursements and her relationship with the students, she allegedly denied having any connection. With questions mounting and demands for documentation, Pope resigned in October 2017, according to the indictment.
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Pope is facing a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted of any of the fraud charges, and a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment if convicted of aggravated identity theft.
In a statement, Reynolds Community College spokesman Joe Schilling said the leadership of the financial aid office and those responsible for its oversight during Pope’s tenure are no longer employed at Reynolds.
“New leadership of the financial aid office has been in place since March of 2018 and has worked diligently to ensure the integrity of all aspects of our financial aid operations,” Schilling said. “Reynolds is in full compliance with the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the administration of federal financial aid.”
The Education Department’s inspector general was involved in the case and routinely investigates school officials accused of misappropriating federal aid.
In the last five years, roughly 1 in 5 of the inspector general’s student aid fraud cases involved school employees or officials, according to the office. Some of those cases resulted in criminal prosecution, while others have been settled out of court or are ongoing.
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