Two Pinellas County Residents Indicted for Student Loan Fraud

Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the unsealing of an indictment charging James Isaac Boyd (40, St. Petersburg) and Shaneva Boyd (30, Clearwater) with conspiracy to defraud the United States Department of Education through a student loan fraud scheme, as well as separate charges of mail fraud and student loan fraud. James Issac Boyd was also charged with aggravated identity theft. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the mail fraud charge and 5 years imprisonment, respectively, for the conspiracy and student loan fraud charges. James Isaac Boyd also faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 2 years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, between August 2005 and September 2007, James Isaac Boyd and Shaneva Boyd formed a Florida corporation named "Graduate Assistance and Consolidations," located in St. Petersburg Florida, to carry out a student loan fraud scheme. Through this company, the Boyds recruited individuals who could not otherwise qualify for federal student aid, and used the personal identifying information of those individuals to submit fraudulent student enrollment forms and federal student financial aid packages to local colleges. The financial aid checks from these schools were often mailed directly to the Boyd's company address and deposited into a bank account which they controlled.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by United States Department of Education, Office of Inspector General. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cherie L. Krigsman.