renvi012 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hey guys, So, here is my dilemma. I have inadvertently committed fraud on my Fafsa application for the past four years. During my first semester of college I received a charge of disorderly conduct and a possession of small amount of marijuana. Since the incident, I have mistakenly thought that the small amount was dropped and I plead guilty to the disorderly conduct. It turns out that I have it backwards, and the disorderly conduct was dropped while I plead guilty to the small amount. Question #31 on the financial aid application explicitly ask if you have any drug possession charges, and I have unknowingly lied on the question and have since received aid. I will be starting graduate school in the fall, and will not be able to attend without financial aid. What should I do? What should have happened four years ago was for me to be ineligible for one year, and complete a rehabilitation program. If I call them and report this now, would I just have to own up to this disciplinary action that I should have fulfilled four years ago? Or will I be responsible for repaying all of the grants I have received between now and then? Further, if I call them and report myself for fraud, will I be subject to criminal charges? I have no idea how to proceed, if anyone has any advice, please let me know. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guttata Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hey guys, So, here is my dilemma. I have inadvertently committed fraud on my Fafsa application for the past four years. During my first semester of college I received a charge of disorderly conduct and a possession of small amount of marijuana. Since the incident, I have mistakenly thought that the small amount was dropped and I plead guilty to the disorderly conduct. It turns out that I have it backwards, and the disorderly conduct was dropped while I plead guilty to the small amount. Question #31 on the financial aid application explicitly ask if you have any drug possession charges, and I have unknowingly lied on the question and have since received aid. I will be starting graduate school in the fall, and will not be able to attend without financial aid. What should I do? What should have happened four years ago was for me to be ineligible for one year, and complete a rehabilitation program. If I call them and report this now, would I just have to own up to this disciplinary action that I should have fulfilled four years ago? Or will I be responsible for repaying all of the grants I have received between now and then? Further, if I call them and report myself for fraud, will I be subject to criminal charges? I have no idea how to proceed, if anyone has any advice, please let me know. Thanks This is potentially a serious problem or potentially no problem at all. Go talk to your schools financial aid office and/or a financial professional, not an internet forum. Quant_Liz_Lemon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renvi012 Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 No, I know that this question could be better answered by someone else. I just learned of this an hour ago and was going to call FAFSA. Just wanted to get an opinion first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 What about talking to a legal professional and getting their opinion before even talking to FAFSA? In your shoes, I would want to know exactly what FAFSA would require me to do before they tell me to do it, so that I don't end up agreeing to do something I didn't need to agree to, or lose a chance where I could have argued a point because I didn't know what my rights were etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loric Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Don't talk to anyone at the school or loan people or anything without talking to a lawyer first. Start at http://www.nolo.com/ See if you can find free advice, but you probably need to schedule a consult with a lawyer (which is usually free) and see from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gnome Chomsky Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Yeah, definitely talk to a lawyer. You could fuck yourself if you play the oblivious card (even if you really were). It's like a person walking up to a police officer with a crack pipe and saying, "Are we allowed to smoke in here?" renvi012 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renvi012 Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Thanks guys. I spoke with someone from the student legal services at the U and have an appointment for Monday. The woman said basically the same thing, to talk with one of their lawyers before contacting FAFSA. So now I am in the process of getting it expunged from my record as quickly as possible, which should take around three months. Yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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