LaVada Cruse 23, of New Jersey, has been arrested and charged in a student loan scam that allowed her to collect nearly $200,000 in student loans after submitting fraudulent loan applications over a period of four years.
Cruse has been charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. She applied for 92 student loans between 2003 and 2007, seeking more than $1 million in student loan funds, although she only completed two college courses in three years. She applied for the loans in both in her name and the names of others, whose Social Security numbers and dates of birth she used without their permission or their knowledge. It is not clear whether Cruse was personally acquainted with the people whose personal information she stole.
She successfully obtained 17 loans totaling $192,000. Cruse’s loan applications also included a fake co-borrower, with fraudulent biographical, employment and financial information.
She falsified letters of employment and created fake pay stubs and tax forms of the phony co-signers in order to submit supporting documentation with her applications.
If convicted, Cruse could face up to 30 years in jail and up to a $1 million fine. Additional charges are pending and she could face more penalties as a result.
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