Two Detroit men have been charged for defrauding the higher education system in Federal Student Aid, announced United States Attorney Jerome Gorgon.
The first complaint charges Brandon Robinson, 41, of Detroit with wire fraud related to false Federal Student Aid claims submitted in the names of other individuals.
Between January 2015 and February 2024, Robinson submitted fraudulent FSA claims for more than 1200 individuals, involving over 100 schools in 24 states.
Robinson caused over $16 million in FSA benefits to be awarded, with more than $10M disbursed. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Robinson also filed over 100 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims between April 2020 and March 2023, causing the disbursement of over $1 million in UI benefits.
Robinson was arrested earlier this week and appeared in federal court this afternoon on the charges.
Court documents say that Robinson is responsible for leading a years-long scheme to obtain fraudulent Federal Student Aid benefits involving so-called “straw students” who were enrolled for the primary purpose of receiving FSA.
The second complaint charges Michelle Hill, 48, of Detroit with wire fraud, in connection with a separate FSA scheme. Hill was arrested earlier this week and made an initial appearance in federal court.