School residency cheaters investigated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, couldn't read the whole thread, but is the person in this one for real?:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/07/maryland-parent-uses-dc-apartment-to-prove-residency-so-kids-attend-district-schools/

Or is she like the fictitious welfare queens? If she is real, why on earth would she talk to that "reporter"?! Boggling!

Incidentally, I came here to check the board because one of my neighbors mentioned that the Washington Post did an investigative series on residence fraud. I couldn't find anything on the wapo website easily. Did they mean this or did wapo do something too? If not they should.

Washington Post and others have been reporting on this same problem for 20 years now.

2015 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/police-officers-allegedly-enrolled-their-children-in-city-schools-illegally/2015/06/11/896eb078-106a-11e5-a0dc-2b6f404ff5cf_story.html

2015 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/top-basketball-players-from-friendship-collegiate-idea-are-subjects-of-residency-investigation/2015/10/08/43849934-6dd4-11e5-b31c-d80d62b53e28_story.html

2014 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/excel-academy-public-charter-school-under-scrutiny-for-alleged-residency-fraud/2014/11/04/a23e7994-6435-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html

2013 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/former-dc-principal-is-accused-of-helping-relative-avoid-a-hefty-tuition-bill/2013/02/15/7551d568-779a-11e2-aa12-e6cf1d31106b_story.html

2013 - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/former-d.c.-principal-charged-with-tuition-fraud/article/2521741

2012 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-schools-insider/post/osse-report-district-pays-at-least-10-million-to-educate-non-resident-students/2012/05/16/gIQAxCOiUU_blog.html

2012- http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/d.c.-sues-md.-mother-for-tuition-fraud/article/2511208/comments

2011 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-schools-insider/post/dc-tries-to-draw-line-on-school-residency-fraud/2011/10/07/gIQALxDRTL_blog.html

2011 - http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/residency-fraud-in-d-c-schools-tough-to-identify-police/

1996 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/10/06/suburban-students-costing-dc-millions-in-lost-tuition/c208d958-96f3-4f9d-b664-7f36efd18e3d/

A related questions for the citizen investigators here: Do some of the same non-resident families who use fake addresses to get their kids into DCPS also use fake addresses to collect DC TAG money for college? https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/audit-of-dc-tag-tuition-assistance-program-shows-millions-of-dollars-unaccounted-for/2014/02/23/3ffcec58-9a7c-11e3-b88d-f36c07223d88_story.html I could easily see someone using grandma's DC address to apply for TAG benefits for college. Maybe a follow-up story for the Daily Caller crew?

TAG fraud definitely. I would also wonder about UDC (to be renamed Marion Barry University according to a DC council bill), but UDC is crappy enough that residence fmight not be an issue even for PG-MD residents.

Correction: "...residence fraud might not be an issue...."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

indeed, winning giant false claims cases is like falling off a log!!

a suit against a charter school that knowingly solicited MD residents to enroll? Maybe, although you still have to figure out if a government unit can make a false claim against another government unit. A FCA suit against a parent? No. They are not making a "claim". Plus, good luck getting any $$ out of them.

Two can do that:

Being sued is fun! Everyone loves hiring lawyers and being at risk of personal liability! If parents or administrators get sued, no other parents or administrators will think twice! They will keep right on keeping on because they love litigation! And if you're right about your interpretation of the law, nothing bad ever happens to you!

The best lawsuit against a charter was a couple of years ago when a mother sued her son's DC charter for alleged staff misconduct against her son. The kicker was that she brought the lawsuit in a court in PG County where she and her son lived!

Proving what we all knew: PG county is trashy (though I applaud this victory).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would also wonder about UDC (to be renamed Marion Barry University according to a DC council bill), but UDC is crappy enough that residence fmight not be an issue even for PG-MD residents.

Is that true?! That's so hilarious that it hurts. Imagine paying for college only to be yoked with Marion Barry's name attached to you for life.

Seriously, that's either the saddest or funniest thing I've heard this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would also wonder about UDC (to be renamed Marion Bar.ry University according to a DC council bill), but UDC is crappy enough that residence fmight not be an issue even for PG-MD residents.

Is that true?! That's so hilarious that it hurts. Imagine paying for college only to be yoked with Marion Bar.ry name attached to you for life.

Seriously, that's either the saddest or funniest thing I've heard this year.

Council clown Vincent Orange sponsored the legislation. Fortunately he's involuntarily leaving the council, but the bill has some cosponsors. Agree that UDC students face enough challenges without being saddled additionally with the name of a nationally notorious, crack-smoking, corrupt, racist demagogue, read chest and buffoon.

[Anonymous]

...racist demagogue,tax cheat and buffoon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

indeed, winning giant false claims cases is like falling off a log!!

a suit against a charter school that knowingly solicited MD residents to enroll? Maybe, although you still have to figure out if a government unit can make a false claim against another government unit. A FCA suit against a parent? No. They are not making a "claim". Plus, good luck getting any $$ out of them.

Two can do that:

Being sued is fun! Everyone loves hiring lawyers and being at risk of personal liability! If parents or administrators get sued, no other parents or administrators will think twice! They will keep right on keeping on because they love litigation! And if you're right about your interpretation of the law, nothing bad ever happens to you!

The best lawsuit against a charter was a couple of years ago when a mother sued her son's DC charter for alleged staff misconduct against her son. The kicker was that she brought the lawsuit in a court in PG County where she and her son lived!

Proving what we all knew: PG county is trashy (though I applaud this victory).

Are you the same poster who is calling women with tattoos "trashy" in Off Topics?

And no, I don't live there--I live in upper NW.

I just can't with the snobs here sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...racist demagogue,tax cheat and buffoon

But we have to have an airport named after Reagan and didn't he take drugs, oh well not matter

[Anonymous]

Not having read the whole thread, so maybe someone already posted, but an independent audit found only 276 students (0.35%) were found to be non residents.

http://www.dcpcsb.org/osse-moves-forward-non-resident-enforcement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not having read the whole thread, so maybe someone already posted, but an independent audit found only 276 students (0.35%) were found to be non residents.

http://www.dcpcsb.org/osse-moves-forward-non-resident-enforcement

LOL what year was this? And they are all still in DC schools and not paying up !!! "“This process is not punitive as much as an opportunity to reassure District residents who are paying taxes in D.C. and playing by the rules.” you just have to shake your head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not having read the whole thread, so maybe someone already posted, but an independent audit found only 276 students (0.35%) were found to be non residents.

http://www.dcpcsb.org/osse-moves-forward-non-resident-enforcement

I don't think this means anything. When they audit, they look at all the paperwork for each child. This kind of audit doesn't catch families who have provided "correct" paperwork using a fraudulent address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not having read the whole thread, so maybe someone already posted, but an independent audit found only 276 students (0.35%) were found to be non residents.

http://www.dcpcsb.org/osse-moves-forward-non-resident-enforcement

LOL what year was this? And they are all still in DC schools and not paying up !!! "“This process is not punitive as much as an opportunity to reassure District residents who are paying taxes in D.C. and playing by the rules.” you just have to shake your head.

So the auditor just looks at students who signed up as non-DC and checks if they paid? Not exactly looking for fraud.

They also forgot the paragraph with the auditor's bio that notes that she lived in Maryland with 3 kids in District charter schools.

[Anonymous]

Two audits --

Audit one: checks residency papers (10% of students at each school pulled randomly and more at schools with history of issues).

Audit two: are students registered as out of state residents paying.

This press release is from 2011. Since then collections have gone up significantly as DCPS and charters ceded control of payment collection to OSSE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

indeed, winning giant false claims cases is like falling off a log!!

a suit against a charter school that knowingly solicited MD residents to enroll? Maybe, although you still have to figure out if a government unit can make a false claim against another government unit. A FCA suit against a parent? No. They are not making a "claim". Plus, good luck getting any $$ out of them.

Two can do that:

Being sued is fun! Everyone loves hiring lawyers and being at risk of personal liability! If parents or administrators get sued, no other parents or administrators will think twice! They will keep right on keeping on because they love litigation! And if you're right about your interpretation of the law, nothing bad ever happens to you!

Pretty much. There is no penalty to throwing many legal theories out there and seeing what sticks. And tack on some vague relief in the court's equitable power.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, couldn't read the whole thread, but is the person in this one for real?:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/07/maryland-parent-uses-dc-apartment-to-prove-residency-so-kids-attend-district-schools/

Or is she like the fictitious welfare queens? If she is real, why on earth would she talk to that "reporter"?! Boggling!

Incidentally, I came here to check the board because one of my neighbors mentioned that the Washington Post did an investigative series on residence fraud. I couldn't find anything on the wapo website easily. Did they mean this or did wapo do something too? If not they should.

The WaPo hasn't done investigative journalism since Watergate. They're too busy fluffing Hillary to be bothered.

They had a good series on tax repossessions of homes and businesses colluding to bid on those homes. It caused the government to end the program until they revised it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, couldn't read the whole thread, but is the person in this one for real?:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/07/maryland-parent-uses-dc-apartment-to-prove-residency-so-kids-attend-district-schools/

Or is she like the fictitious welfare queens? If she is real, why on earth would she talk to that "reporter"?! Boggling!

Incidentally, I came here to check the board because one of my neighbors mentioned that the Washington Post did an investigative series on residence fraud. I couldn't find anything on the wapo website easily. Did they mean this or did wapo do something too? If not they should.

Washington Post and others have been reporting on this same problem for 20 years now.

2015 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/police-officers-allegedly-enrolled-their-children-in-city-schools-illegally/2015/06/11/896eb078-106a-11e5-a0dc-2b6f404ff5cf_story.html

2015 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/top-basketball-players-from-friendship-collegiate-idea-are-subjects-of-residency-investigation/2015/10/08/43849934-6dd4-11e5-b31c-d80d62b53e28_story.html

2014 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/excel-academy-public-charter-school-under-scrutiny-for-alleged-residency-fraud/2014/11/04/a23e7994-6435-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html

2013 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/former-dc-principal-is-accused-of-helping-relative-avoid-a-hefty-tuition-bill/2013/02/15/7551d568-779a-11e2-aa12-e6cf1d31106b_story.html

2013 - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/former-d.c.-principal-charged-with-tuition-fraud/article/2521741

2012 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-schools-insider/post/osse-report-district-pays-at-least-10-million-to-educate-non-resident-students/2012/05/16/gIQAxCOiUU_blog.html

2012- http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/d.c.-sues-md.-mother-for-tuition-fraud/article/2511208/comments

2011 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-schools-insider/post/dc-tries-to-draw-line-on-school-residency-fraud/2011/10/07/gIQALxDRTL_blog.html

2011 - http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/residency-fraud-in-d-c-schools-tough-to-identify-police/

1996 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/10/06/suburban-students-costing-dc-millions-in-lost-tuition/c208d958-96f3-4f9d-b664-7f36efd18e3d/

A related questions for the citizen investigators here: Do some of the same non-resident families who use fake addresses to get their kids into DCPS also use fake addresses to collect DC TAG money for college? https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/audit-of-dc-tag-tuition-assistance-program-shows-millions-of-dollars-unaccounted-for/2014/02/23/3ffcec58-9a7c-11e3-b88d-f36c07223d88_story.html I could easily see someone using grandma's DC address to apply for TAG benefits for college. Maybe a follow-up story for the Daily Caller crew?

That's a cool compilation. Thanks!