Jail Time For Haddon Heights Woman In Diving School Scandal

HADDON HEIGHTS, NJ — A South Jersey woman who serves as the president and CEO of a commercial diving school has been sentenced to two years, three months in prison for fraudulently obtaining federal funding for the school and its students, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Tamara Brown, 58, of Haddon Heights, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging her with one count of wire fraud. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, fined $50,000, and ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution.

In addition to teaching students about diving, the school offered classes in underwater welding and salvage, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

As a for-profit institution, the diving school was required to be accredited through an approved accreditation body to be eligible to receive tuition funds from the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Higher Education Act’s programs.

For veteran students to receive student aid to attend the school, it also had to be accredited with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

More than 80 percent of the school’s students received financial assistance from the Department of Education, and the school had been properly accredited before 2012, according to authorities.

However, when renewing the diving school’s accreditation that year, Brown submitted fraudulent information to the accrediting authority, according to authorities.

For example, Brown reported that between 81 and 84 percent of the school’s graduates went to find employment, when that number was really in the 50 to 60 percent range, authorities said.

The actual range is significantly lower than the rate required to maintain accreditation, according to authorities.

In addition, Brown reported that the school’s advisory board held meetings on various dates, and submitted reports of minutes from nine meetings, according to authorities.

However, the school had no advisory board, which it must have to maintain accreditation, authorities said. Minutes from at least six of the meetings were completely made up, according to authorities.

Advisory boards are required to “ensure that the school’s curriculum would educate students to meet the current demands of the industry and prospective employers,” authorities said.

The diving school nonetheless continued to regularly receive DOE funds via wire transfers, including a wire transfer which occurred on Jan. 18, 2017, according to authorities. The school closed in July 2018.

Students who can show that their school misled them or engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain state laws may be eligible for the discharge of some or all federal student loan debt under certain circumstances pursuant to the Borrower Defense Loan Discharge program. Former students of Divers Academy International who wish to seek federal loan forgiveness may apply at www.studentaid.gov/borrower-defense/.