2 Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining Student Loans from Northern Virginia Community College

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- Ernest Xavier Taylor, Jr., 31, and Tracie Laverne Mixon, 34, both of Hammond, Louisiana, were sentenced Friday to 51 and 45 months in prison for charges relating to stealing the identities of four people to fraudulently obtain federal student loans from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) and other schools, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Friday in a news release.

Taylor Jr. and Mixon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and financial aid fraud in addition to aggravated identity theft. Taylor Jr. and Mixon engaged in a conspiracy to use the identity of four different people to fraudulently obtain federal student aid from NVCC and other schools, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The four different people included three who were in prison at the time their identities were used, and the fourth person was recovering in a military hospital after suffering injuries while deployed as a member of the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

Taylor Jr. and Mixon would use the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of these four different people on various submissions, but Taylor Jr. and Mixon would supply their own addresses, emails and telephone numbers to ensure that communications from the Department of Education, NVCC, and the other schools would be directed to Taylor Jr. and Mixon.

The indictment also alleges that recorded telephone calls captured Taylor Jr. pretending to be the four different identities when calling to check on the status of financial aid from NVCC. Taylor Jr. and Mixon’s fraudulent actions allegedly caused NVCC and other schools to offer approximately $67,000 in federal student aid to the various identities used by Taylor Jr. and Mixon, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

In addition to NVCC, the other schools targeted by Taylor Jr. and Mixon are: Front Range Community College; Community College of Denver; Portland Community College; and Black Hills State University.

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