School residency cheaters investigated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe there is an issue with tips not being followed up on (as discussed earlier in this thread) as well as with the investigations conducted into the tips. I know of someone who was investigated for residency fraud and cleared the appeals process in spite of having very poor documentation. In that case, it was not a false address provided but rather an informal custody grant (ie, a letter saying that child needed to stay with grandparents for a period due to financial instability of the parents). I was floored that the case was dropped. I mention this to point out two things: (1) tips don't help if the follow-up process is flawed or deficient, and (2) it is not always residency fraud but sometimes false custody arrangements.

And what's the issue with a child staying with their grandparents when they need to? I don't understand the kind of mean-spirited person who seems to think that a case like this is fraud. I know more than a few families like that all over Shepherd Park. Are those kids not entitled to go to Shepherd?

PP here. The child in question was not staying with the grandparents. Not at all. Nor was there any financial instability. I agree that there are complicated situations out there, but this was not one and I was surprised that a letter regarding an informal custody arrangement was sufficient for years and years.

How do you know there was no financial instability?

I feel like this is an area in which the expectations of middle class white folks butt up against cultural realities in communities of color. Informal kinship care is much more common in communities of color than it is in the white communities. So much more common, for a whole ton of reasons that run the gamut from communities of color being less geographically spread out, to a history of wanting to keep kids out of the system. So...you do get kids living informally with their grandparents but no formal change of custody.

This can be confusing for white folks encountering it for the first time, and look like fraud. In reality, it is a cultural difference.

I know this can be confusing to you but white folks understand children living with grandparents. That isn't the case in these articles. These are children living with their parent(s) in Maryland. That isn't confusing at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM:

I'm wrote that in all caps to get your attention. If you want to solve the problem of residency fraud once and for all, and are willing to do some work, YOU CAN DO IT, and even make some money. HERE IS HOW:

D.C. Law 19-317, 60 DCR 2064, is the DC False Claims Act. It makes it illegal to knowingly present any false claim for payment to the district. It also prohibits knowingly making a false record that is material to such a claim, and being the beneficiary of such a claim. Violators can be held responsible for three times the loss sustained to the district, plus $5-11K per violation. A private person can bring a false claims act case on their own. And here's the kicker: If the Attorney General takes your suit over, you can get up to 25% of what he recovers. If you prosecute it yourself, you can recover up to 30%.

So: Out-of-town people who fill out false residency forms, out of town people whose kids go to DC Schools, school administrators who let them, and who submit their annual funding requests all are guilty of breaking the false claims law. If some enterprising DCUMer does their own investigation and sues those people and wins, you can bet that administrators will get on the ball. It shouldn't be hard to find the Maryland residents who have some money, and there must be some administrators who have some money. Daily Caller went out of its way to mention what kind of cars and houses people have.

So you can solve residency fraud and keep a percentage of what you recover! Not only that, these cases allow for attorney's fees, so you should be able to find some enterprising attorney to take it on contingency. If you're going to stalk these people anyway, why not take it into your own hands and make a profit rather than relying on lax enforcement?

Good luck, and you're welcome.



(Disclaimer: I'm not your attorney. Check all this with an attorney, obviously.)

Nope. A "false claim" is for money or property. Not enrolling in school.

add "constructive" or "quasi" and then presto! Magic! Somehow it works and the "tuition" becomes the money. I still vote for a writ of mandamus.

go back to doc review you 10th year associate

You would consider yourself lucky to work for my parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM:

I'm wrote that in all caps to get your attention. If you want to solve the problem of residency fraud once and for all, and are willing to do some work, YOU CAN DO IT, and even make some money. HERE IS HOW:

D.C. Law 19-317, 60 DCR 2064, is the DC False Claims Act. It makes it illegal to knowingly present any false claim for payment to the district. It also prohibits knowingly making a false record that is material to such a claim, and being the beneficiary of such a claim. Violators can be held responsible for three times the loss sustained to the district, plus $5-11K per violation. A private person can bring a false claims act case on their own. And here's the kicker: If the Attorney General takes your suit over, you can get up to 25% of what he recovers. If you prosecute it yourself, you can recover up to 30%.

So: Out-of-town people who fill out false residency forms, out of town people whose kids go to DC Schools, school administrators who let them, and who submit their annual funding requests all are guilty of breaking the false claims law. If some enterprising DCUMer does their own investigation and sues those people and wins, you can bet that administrators will get on the ball. It shouldn't be hard to find the Maryland residents who have some money, and there must be some administrators who have some money. Daily Caller went out of its way to mention what kind of cars and houses people have.

So you can solve residency fraud and keep a percentage of what you recover! Not only that, these cases allow for attorney's fees, so you should be able to find some enterprising attorney to take it on contingency. If you're going to stalk these people anyway, why not take it into your own hands and make a profit rather than relying on lax enforcement?

Good luck, and you're welcome.



(Disclaimer: I'm not your attorney. Check all this with an attorney, obviously.)

Nope. A "false claim" is for money or property. Not enrolling in school.

add "constructive" or "quasi" and then presto! Magic! Somehow it works and the "tuition" becomes the money. I still vote for a writ of mandamus.

go back to doc review you 10th year associate

Did you read the statute? Schools get money, that's m-o-n-e-y, based on enrollment. Students who are enrolled are the beneficiaries of that money. I don't need to convince you. The false claims attorneys will figure it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure there are a handful of situations where family instability leads to confusing residency. Those can be dealt with on a case by case basis. But it's unlikely the lady driving the Escalade with Maryland tags is suffering much instability - she's just cheating. Not all Maryland parents are cheaters, but not all Maryland parents are innocent either.

We get it. Your own social insecurity makes escalades attractive to you. Naturally, when you see someone driving one, you do an assessment of their social caste.

You're all gross. Escalades are gross. You, with your escalade envy, are even more gross. In a happier world, we could lock you all in an exurban mall and never have to see any of you again.

Nah. I happily drive a 9 year old minivan for work. I just don't like people like you excusing the cheating of someone who drives a $74,000 car by saying she must have an unstable life that requires her to place her child with grandparents. She's a cheater.

Your minivan is also gross. You shouldn't be driving to work at all. You drive a car that seats 6-8 people to work. By yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure there are a handful of situations where family instability leads to confusing residency. Those can be dealt with on a case by case basis. But it's unlikely the lady driving the Escalade with Maryland tags is suffering much instability - she's just cheating. Not all Maryland parents are cheaters, but not all Maryland parents are innocent either.

We get it. Your own social insecurity makes escalades attractive to you. Naturally, when you see someone driving one, you do an assessment of their social caste.

You're all gross. Escalades are gross. You, with your escalade envy, are even more gross. In a happier world, we could lock you all in an exurban mall and never have to see any of you again.

Nah. I happily drive a 9 year old minivan for work. I just don't like people like you excusing the cheating of someone who drives a $74,000 car by saying she must have an unstable life that requires her to place her child with grandparents. She's a cheater.

Your minivan is also gross. You shouldn't be driving to work at all. You drive a car that seats 6-8 people to work. By yourself.

$74,000 car, and taking advantage of DCPS. You are part of the reason our schools lack the funding they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The editing is definitely shoddy, but if this is the spotlight that's finally bright enough to force DC to do the right thing then that's wonderful. I'll take more Republicans every day of the week. We've been getting shafted because of corruption and cronyism and graft for decades.

I don't care if you work downtown. I don't care if your nana lives on the Hill. You don't. Pay taxes or get the hell out.

the editing is the least of the problems with this piece. It's riddled with innuendo, numbers pulled out of their ass, and broad presumptions. It insults the reader's intelligence by sounding like a random screed pulled from DCUM.

I suspect there is some degree of residency fraud in DC public education. The Daily Caller gang of misfits isn't helping me better understand the nuances of problem or potential solutions.

Given that this thread is 55 pages long now, and still going strong, I'd say the Daily Caller writers definitely brought to The front and issue of significant public interest.

Not really, the same people have been trolling this topic for years. It hits all the right notes for the conservative forum trolls: DC statehood is incompetent, brown people are all Barry flunkies, we aren't racist, it's just pg county. Etc. Etc. You could write these talking points on a waffle and they would get 100 pages here.

Well... based on the posts on my neighborhood listserv it's not just dcum trolls who are enraged about the cheating ...

If you're talking about MOTH...ew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM:

I'm wrote that in all caps to get your attention. If you want to solve the problem of residency fraud once and for all, and are willing to do some work, YOU CAN DO IT, and even make some money. HERE IS HOW:

D.C. Law 19-317, 60 DCR 2064, is the DC False Claims Act. It makes it illegal to knowingly present any false claim for payment to the district. It also prohibits knowingly making a false record that is material to such a claim, and being the beneficiary of such a claim. Violators can be held responsible for three times the loss sustained to the district, plus $5-11K per violation. A private person can bring a false claims act case on their own. And here's the kicker: If the Attorney General takes your suit over, you can get up to 25% of what he recovers. If you prosecute it yourself, you can recover up to 30%.

So: Out-of-town people who fill out false residency forms, out of town people whose kids go to DC Schools, school administrators who let them, and who submit their annual funding requests all are guilty of breaking the false claims law. If some enterprising DCUMer does their own investigation and sues those people and wins, you can bet that administrators will get on the ball. It shouldn't be hard to find the Maryland residents who have some money, and there must be some administrators who have some money. Daily Caller went out of its way to mention what kind of cars and houses people have.

So you can solve residency fraud and keep a percentage of what you recover! Not only that, these cases allow for attorney's fees, so you should be able to find some enterprising attorney to take it on contingency. If you're going to stalk these people anyway, why not take it into your own hands and make a profit rather than relying on lax enforcement?

Good luck, and you're welcome.



(Disclaimer: I'm not your attorney. Check all this with an attorney, obviously.)

Nope. A "false claim" is for money or property. Not enrolling in school.

add "constructive" or "quasi" and then presto! Magic! Somehow it works and the "tuition" becomes the money. I still vote for a writ of mandamus.

go back to doc review you 10th year associate

Did you read the statute? Schools get money, that's m-o-n-e-y, based on enrollment. Students who are enrolled are the beneficiaries of that money. I don't need to convince you. The false claims attorneys will figure it out.

lol good luck with that! everyone knows it is just a cinch to create novel false claims act theories that don't fit the plain language of the statute, and also to get the govt to intervene in cases that they may not support! but go ahead anyway.

[Anonymous]

If the DC government doesn't follow up on these accusations there is something seriously wrong with this city--more pernicious than residency fraud--and we should vote them all out. This whole thing is outrageous. Investigate, put in tighter controls and start doing your jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure there are a handful of situations where family instability leads to confusing residency. Those can be dealt with on a case by case basis. But it's unlikely the lady driving the Escalade with Maryland tags is suffering much instability - she's just cheating. Not all Maryland parents are cheaters, but not all Maryland parents are innocent either.

We get it. Your own social insecurity makes escalades attractive to you. Naturally, when you see someone driving one, you do an assessment of their social caste.

You're all gross. Escalades are gross. You, with your escalade envy, are even more gross. In a happier world, we could lock you all in an exurban mall and never have to see any of you again.

Nah. I happily drive a 9 year old minivan for work. I just don't like people like you excusing the cheating of someone who drives a $74,000 car by saying she must have an unstable life that requires her to place her child with grandparents. She's a cheater.

Your minivan is also gross. You shouldn't be driving to work at all. You drive a car that seats 6-8 people to work. By yourself.

$74,000 car, and taking advantage of DCPS. You are part of the reason our schools lack the funding they need.

Even in our WOTP elementary, the number of OOB families with very expensive cars and those "I am so connected to the mayor" low-number license plates is quite noticeable. It's a status thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure there are a handful of situations where family instability leads to confusing residency. Those can be dealt with on a case by case basis. But it's unlikely the lady driving the Escalade with Maryland tags is suffering much instability - she's just cheating. Not all Maryland parents are cheaters, but not all Maryland parents are innocent either.

We get it. Your own social insecurity makes escalades attractive to you. Naturally, when you see someone driving one, you do an assessment of their social caste.

You're all gross. Escalades are gross. You, with your escalade envy, are even more gross. In a happier world, we could lock you all in an exurban mall and never have to see any of you again.

Nah. I happily drive a 9 year old minivan for work. I just don't like people like you excusing the cheating of someone who drives a $74,000 car by saying she must have an unstable life that requires her to place her child with grandparents. She's a cheater.

Your minivan is also gross. You shouldn't be driving to work at all. You drive a car that seats 6-8 people to work. By yourself.

$74,000 car, and taking advantage of DCPS. You are part of the reason our schools lack the funding they need.

Save on day care, splurge on bling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the DC government doesn't follow up on these accusations there is something seriously wrong with this city--more pernicious than residency fraud--and we should vote them all out. This whole thing is outrageous. Investigate, put in tighter controls and start doing your jobs.

Er, there is something seriously wrong with this city. Hint: every mayor serves one term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the DC government doesn't follow up on these accusations there is something seriously wrong with this city--more pernicious than residency fraud--and we should vote them all out. This whole thing is outrageous. Investigate, put in tighter controls and start doing your jobs.

Er, there is something seriously wrong with this city. Hint: every mayor serves one term.

Not really --

Marion Barry served many terms. Anthony Williams served 2. Fenty, Grey -- 1 each.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the DC government doesn't follow up on these accusations there is something seriously wrong with this city--more pernicious than residency fraud--and we should vote them all out. This whole thing is outrageous. Investigate, put in tighter controls and start doing your jobs.

Er, there is something seriously wrong with this city. Hint: every mayor serves one term.

I guess it's time to bring back Vincent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the DC government doesn't follow up on these accusations there is something seriously wrong with this city--more pernicious than residency fraud--and we should vote them all out. This whole thing is outrageous. Investigate, put in tighter controls and start doing your jobs.

Er, there is something seriously wrong with this city. Hint: every mayor serves one term.

Not really --

Marion Barry served many terms. Anthony Williams served 2. Fenty, Grey -- 1 each.

Of course, Barry was infamous Ex. 1 for the observation that "there is something seriously wrong with this city."

Tony Williams was a very good mayor -- frankly the high point of DC's history of home rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Did you read the statute? Schools get money, that's m-o-n-e-y, based on enrollment. Students who are enrolled are the beneficiaries of that money. I don't need to convince you. The false claims attorneys will figure it out.

lol good luck with that! everyone knows it is just a cinch to create novel false claims act theories that don't fit the plain language of the statute, and also to get the govt to intervene in cases that they may not support! but go ahead anyway.

Ok, let's look at the plain language:

(a) Any person who commits any of the following acts shall be liable to the District for 3 times the amount of damages which the District sustains because of the act of that person. A person who commits any of the following acts shall also be liable to the District for the costs of a civil action brought to recover penalties or damages, and shall be liable to the District for a civil penalty of not less than $5,500, and not more than $11,000, for each false or fraudulent claim for which the person:

(1) Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;

(2) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim;

A school administrator that requests funding based on enrollment knowing that enrolled students are not D.C. residents has caused a false claim to be presented for approval.
A parent who falsifies residency information has knowingly used a false record that is material to a false claim.

Note that the parent can be liable even if cannot be shown that the administrators know their enrollment numbers are false, so long as the parent knows that the documents they use to prove residency are false.

How can it be any more plain?