US

DC Wins Lawsuit Against School Residency Fraudsters

DCNF photo

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Font Size:

Two District of Columbia police officers who lived in Maryland and Virginia and fraudulently enrolled their three children in D.C. Public Schools for a decade must pay the District more than half a million dollars in back tuition and penalties.

D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine on Thursday hailed the $539,000 judgement against Lt. Alan Hill and Sgt. Candace Hill under the D.C. False Claims Act, but, as a recent Daily Caller News Foundation school residency fraud series revealed, that single case is a drop in the bucket.

TheDCNF investigation found that D.C. public and charter schools — funded by local and federal taxpayers at $30,000 per child per year — likely have a residency fraud rate of at least 11 percent because D.C. has 4,000 more students enrolled than school-aged children residents. (RELATED: Rampant Fraud Means Even D.C. Gov’t Contractors Can Illegally Send Kids To D.C. Schools)

The police-officer parents lived in Maryland and Virginia but used a false D.C. address — the address for a D.C. apartment Alan Hill rented to tenants — on DCPS enrollment forms. Two Hill children attended D.C. schools from 2005 to 2013, and the third attended from 2003 to 2013, according to the D.C. Office of Attorney General (AG).

The couple worked at D.C.’s Second District police station, and sent their children to John Eaton Elementary School, Alice Deal Middle School and Woodrow Wilson High School.

“D.C. taxpayers should not be subsidizing the education of children from other states,” D.C. Attorney General Racine said in a news release. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who falsely claim District residency in order to obtain government benefits to which they are not entitled.”

DCPS and D.C. Office of the State Superintendent officials claim they are serious about rooting out residency fraud, but refused to answer questions during TheDCNF’s investigation.

The D.C. AG has won 24 judgments and out-of-court settlements totaling $1.2 million since it began suing parents for residency fraud in 2012.

Follow Kathryn on Twitter

Send tips to katie@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.