Ex-Virginia school administrator gets 5 years for fraud

By The Associated Press
July 20, 2022 | 9:44 AM

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Richmond woman has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for directing a yearslong scheme to defraud state and federal officials of at least $230,000 in student financial aid funds.

Court documents showed that Kiesha Pope was the director of financial aid at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College starting in 2006.

U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber says that Pope was involved in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Education, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the college of educational funds.

News outlets report that Pope pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Aber says Pope developed or increased financial aid eligibility for individuals, often relatives, who weren’t eligible.

She spent the money on personal expenses, including a vacation.

Howard University president says more than 200 students readmitted after mass unenrollment

By The Associated Press
July 29, 2026 | 6:20 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The interim president of Howard University said over 200 of the more than 500 first-year incoming students who were unenrolled for the fall semester have been readmitted to the Washington, D.C. school. In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Wayne A. I. Frederick defended the way the historically Black university handled the initial unenrollment, saying many students and their families apparently misunderstood the communicated financial obligations they were expected to meet before the start of instruction in August. “There were no issues as far as what we communicated," Frederick said, adding that the school had been clear since March about unpaid balances for tuition that were due by mid-July. Students who were unenrolled for financial reasons had outstanding tuition balances after their financial aid and scholarships were applied, he said. Others were unenrolled because of unreported immunizations.

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