Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Shelbra Long Admitted to Fraudulently Causing the Award of Over $466,000 in Education Benefits
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Shelbra Long, age 58, of Edinburg, Texas, pled guilty today to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon and Acting Special Agent in Charge Isabel Douroupis, of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General (ED OIG) – Eastern Regional Office, made the announcement.
Long admitted to engaging in a decade-long scheme to apply for admission and financial aid to online colleges in the names of purported students who had their identities stolen. After the Department of Education disbursed the financial aid to a school, Long and her coconspirators withdrew the purported student from enrollment. The schools refunded the balance of the financial aid that had not been used to bank accounts controlled by the conspirators. The Department of Education awarded $466,430 in aid based on the scheme, of which it disbursed $211,820.
Long faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years, when she is sentenced on June 26, 2025. Long has agreed to pay $211,820 in restitution to the Department of Education and to forfeit an additional $52,304. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
ED OIG investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner is prosecuting.