
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 10, 1993                   TAG: 9308100119
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

EDUCATION AID PROGRAM LOSING MILLIONS TO FRAUD

The government's largest cash aid program for higher education is being defrauded of millions of dollars by schools that claim benefits for students who don't attend or are ineligible, according to government documents and investigators.

In schools as disparate as orthodox Jewish academies in New York and a Wisconsin trucker-training facility, Education Department documents describe widespread abuse of Pell grants.

Department officials acknowledge the program has lacked oversight. "There is fraud and abuse in the program that we have to get on top of," said David Longanecker, assistant secretary for post-secondary education.

The allegations have spawned a federal grand jury investigation of at least three dozen orthodox Jewish schools in the New York City area, according to sources familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Some of the Jewish schools have received Pell grants in the names of students who are not attending classes or did not have a high school diploma, Education Department enforcement reports show.

And Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., says a subcommittee he chairs has uncovered evidence that some students were given kickbacks - paid either to attend a school or to allow their names to be used on Pell grant applications.

"There's no real monitoring of the federal funds," said Kenneth Gribetz, the district attorney in Rockland County, N.Y., who handled one case now under federal investigation.

"It's like Santa Claus came to town and just gave out money," Gribetz said. "A good program for needy people could be killed by inadequate supervision."

Last year, the government distributed $6.7 billion in Pell grants to assist some 3.8 million of America's neediest students - an average of $1,763 each. Some 6,300 schools nationwide are eligible to participate.

by CNB