ATLANTA – De’reek Banks has been sentenced for working a scheme that induced roughly $48,000,000 in excellent federal scholar loans to be fraudulently discharged by exploiting a program meant for disabled navy veterans. Banks illegally pocketed about $891,000 in funds from greater than 500 scholar mortgage debtors. Many of those debtors mistakenly believed that that they had paid Banks for legit scholar debt reduction providers.
“This defendant overtly stole funds from harmless scholar mortgage debtors by exploiting a monetary support program meant to help navy vets who sacrificed their well being for the safety of our nation,” mentioned U.S. Legal professional Ryan Okay. Buchanan. “He tricked debtors into believing that he might legitimately get hold of federal scholar mortgage discharges for them whereas making an attempt to defraud the U.S. authorities of virtually 50 million {dollars}.”
“The sentencing demonstrates the dedication of the US Postal Inspection Service to deliver to justice fraudsters who search to take advantage of victims and federal packages for their very own private achieve,” mentioned Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Cost of the Atlanta Division. “We’re proud to work with our regulation enforcement companions to unravel and cease such a fraudulent scheme.”
“I’m happy with the OIG Particular Brokers and our regulation enforcement colleagues whose efforts caused this motion,” mentioned Reginald J. France, Particular Agent in Cost of the U.S. Division of Schooling Workplace of Inspector Basic’s Southeastern Regional Workplace. “The OIG is dedicated to preventing scholar support fraud in all its varieties and we’ll proceed to work with our companions to pursue anybody who members in all these crimes.”
In keeping with U.S. Legal professional Buchanan, the fees and different data offered in court docket: De’reek Banks provided to assist scholar mortgage debtors get hold of discharges for federal scholar loans in change for a price. Banks claimed that particular authorities packages existed for authorizing the discharge of the debtors’ loans. However Banks’s enterprise relied on false statements he made to Federal Scholar Help, an workplace of the U.S. Division of Schooling chargeable for offering billions in monetary support to college students.
Banks made false representations to the company, and fabricated a whole lot of Division of Veterans Affairs letters utilizing a faux letterhead, claiming that the debtors had been navy veterans who had been eligible for scholar mortgage discharges as a result of a complete or everlasting incapacity (“TPD”). Banks then used these letters to use for particular TPD discharges with Federal Scholar Help that induced the coed mortgage debtors’ money owed to be erased although the debtors didn’t lawfully qualify for the discharge. Banks induced roughly $48,000,000 in scholar loans to be fraudulently discharged by means of his scheme.
On March 2, 2022, De’reek Banks, 41, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to 6 years in jail to be adopted by three years of supervised launch and ordered to pay restitution within the quantity of $910,416.69. He pleaded responsible to theft of presidency property.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Division of Schooling, Workplace of Inspector Basic and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Legal professional Samir Kaushal, Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Mental Property Crime Part, prosecuted the case.
For additional data please contact the U.S. Legal professional’s Public Affairs Workplace at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Web handle for the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
