By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
The leader of a federal student loan fraud ring has pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Nakesha Sharrieff, also known as Takiyah Raheem and Asiya Hanifah Kahan, 24, of Sacramento, entered the plea today before Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb. Sharrieff is the fourth defendant in the case to plead guilty, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.
Sharrieff admitted in her guilty plea that she began participating in a scheme to obtain federal student loan funds in September 2004 and eventually led the scheme herself. She began by submitting an application for student loan funds for community college, although she had no intention of attending and never did attend classes.
Once Sharrieff took over the scheme, she obtained other people's personal information, with or without their consent, and used recruiters to persuade additional "straw" students to provide personal information for the purpose of fraudulently applying for and obtaining additional federal financial aid.
Officials said Sharrieff also used the addresses of co-defendants and Sacramento residents Teaona Williams, 24, Hoa "Tasha" Kelly, 24, and Jewel Minor, 24, to apply for funds and to avoid detection by having too many applications associated with a single address. Sharrieff split the student loan monies with the "straw" students, who in some cases also paid part of the proceeds to the recruiter who brought them into the scheme.
In one instance, officials said, Sharrieff used stolen personal information of a woman with no connection to Sharrieff, applied for and obtained aid in her name, and got a student identification card with Sharrieff's picture but with the victim's name, so she could cash aid checks issued in the victim's name.
In all, Sharrieff fraudulently applied for federal financial aid funds for more than 60 people, the majority of whom willingly participated in the scheme, according to the news release. The total financial aid funds paid to Sharrieff and her co-conspirators in the scheme exceeded $200,000.
Five other defendants were charged in the case, and three have pleaded guilty. Jarmal Duplessis, 22, of Sacramento pleaded guilty Aug. 29 and was sentenced in November to nine months in prison, three years of supervised release and $23,294.70 in restitution. Minor pleaded guilty Sept. 27 and was sentenced in December to two years in prison, three years of supervised release and $118,843.72 in restitution. Thomas Keys, 23, of Sacramento pleaded guilty Oct. 4 and is to be sentenced March 7.
Charges are pending against co-defendants Kelly and Williams.
Sharrieff is to be sentenced May 16 by Judge Shubb.
The case resulted from investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General and the Los Rios Community College Police Department.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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