ATLANTA, Ga. – The former president of Morris Brown College was sentenced on Jan. 3 to five years of probation and one year of home confinement for fraud.
Dolores Cross, who served as president of Morris Brown from 1998 to 2002, pleaded guilty in May of last year to embezzling $3.4 million in federal student loans and Pell grants.
The judge delivered a lenient sentence in light of Cross’ age (70) and the fact that she did not personally benefit from the embezzlement. Cross’ attorneys had asked for leniency because Cross suffers from sleep apnea and has experienced several strokes since 2001.
Parvesh Singh, the 64-year-old former financial aid and enrollment director of Morris Brown College and Cross’ accomplice, was also sentence to five years probation and 18 months home confinement.
Cross and Singh fraudulently obtained $3.4 million in federal loans and grants by applying for federal aid using the names of students who never attended the college, were no longer enrolled or only attended part-time. According to court documents, Cross used the money to cover $3.3 million in school debt.