Dolores E. Cross, a former president of Morris Brown College, was sentenced today to five years of probation and a year of home confinement for her role in fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in federal student aid for the college, the Associated Press reported.
Ms. Cross, 70, was president of the Atlanta college from 1998 to 2002. She pleaded guilty in May to embezzling the funds. Federal prosecutors dismissed 27 other charges against her in exchange for her plea. Parvesh Singh, who was the college’s financial-aid director when the fraud was committed, was also sentenced today, to five years of probation and 18 months of home confinement.
The fraud charge described how Mr. Singh had obtained $3.4-million in loans and Pell Grants for 1,800 ineligible students, many of whom had never attended or were no longer at Morris Brown. Ms. Cross then allegedly used the money to pay off the college’s debt, much of which was incurred through spending increases she had instituted.
The relatively light sentence for Ms. Cross, which prosecutors and her lawyers agreed on, was based on her age, her health, and the fact that she did not profit personally from the crime, according to the AP.
