3-03-2023 3:25pm

Three Women Indicted for Alleged Scheme that Used Prison Inmates’ Identities to Fraudulently Get Federal Student Loans

Anita Johnson-Brown Editor

LOS ANGELES –On March 3, The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Three women were arrested this week on a federal grand jury indictment alleging they operated a federal student aid fraud scheme that used the identities of California prison inmates and other victims to fraudulently enroll in an Orange County-based community college and obtain federal student loans totaling nearly $1 million.

The six-count indictment charges the following defendants with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud:

Nyisha Ramsey, 43, of Lancaster;
Dionne Ramsey, 36, of Las Vegas, who is Nyisha Ramsey’s sister; and
Sharyn Barney, 62, of Lancaster, is Nyisha Ramsey’s mother-in-law.

Dionne Ramsey faces four additional counts of wire fraud affecting a bank. Dionne Ramsey and Barney likewise have been charged with one count of bank fraud.

In December 2022, as reported in the indictment returned and unsealed this week, the defendants allegedly acquired personal identifying information, including names and Social Security numbers, of state prison prisoners and additional victims, and used this information to fraudulently enroll in community colleges from January 2012 to August 2017.

The defendants allegedly posed as the straw students to apply for federal student aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and had those funds go to bank accounts they managed. according to the indictment, the funds were used for personal costs and not used for qualified educational expenses at a community college in Orange County as they were believed to be.

As a consequence of their alleged conspiracy, the defendants fraudulently caused the United States Treasury to pay approximately $980,000 in FSA funds on behalf of straw students.

The United States Department of Education supervises the administration of Title IV Federal Student Assistance. This includes the administration of Direct Loan Programs for low-interest loans to eligible students to assist in covering the cost of higher education, and the Pell Grant Program to help eligible indigent students in meeting the expenses of post-secondary education. According to federal regulations, federal student-loan funds can just be used to pay the cost of attending an institution of higher education. Incarcerated individuals are not eligible to receive such funds.

All three defendants were apprehended this week and ordered released on bond. Nyisha Ramsey and Barney were arraigned and have pleaded not guilty to the charges; against them.

A trial date has been scheduled for April 25, for the defendants. Dionne Ramsey made her initial court appearance on Thursday in the District of Nevada and is expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted of all charges, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each count.

The United States Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development investigated the case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Weiner of the General Crimes Section and Maxwell K. Coll of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this matter.

Written by Anita Johnson-Brown