Mother and Daughter Enter Guilty Pleas

WICHITA, Kansas - United States Attorney Jackie Williams announced today that Susan Hampton, 59, and Sharon Mathis, 40, both of Wichita, Kansas, each entered a guilty plea on April 16, 2001, before U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten. Hampton entered a guilty plea to one count of failing to return student loans to lending institutions and one count of making a false statement to the Department of Education. Mathis entered a guilty plea to one count of failing to return student loans to lending institutions.

Williams said that Hampton, former owner of Climate Control Institute, Inc., (CCI), and Mathis, former Financial Aid Director at CCI, admitted at their pleas that from April 16, 1996, through October 18, 2000, they intentionally failed to return student loans to lending institutions when students withdrew from CCI resulting in a loss to The Department of Education. Hampton also admitted that on November 24, 1997, she knowingly presented copies of altered checks to the Department of Education representing that these false checks had been used by CCI to repay student loans.

Hampton faces a maximum of five years in federal prison, without parole, on each count. Mathis faces a maximum of five years in federal prison, without parole. No sentencing date has yet been set.

The case was investigated by the Department of Education. Williams commended the excellent work of the Department of Education in this investigation.