Roselle Man Sentenced To 6 Years For Stealing College Financial Aid Funds

From the DuPage County State’s Attorney Office:

March 12, 2020

State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced today that a Roselle man accused of stealing more than $200,000 from the College of DuPage (COD) through an elaborate scheme involving financial aid fraud has been sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Cedric Ramey, 43 (d.o.b. 8/15/1976) of 811 Shawnee Trail, appeared at his sentencing hearing this afternoon where
Judge Alex McGimpsey handed down the sentence. On December 13, 2019, Ramey entered a plea of guilty to one count of Theft Over $100,000 From a School or Place of Worship, a Class X Felony. His co-defendant, Mary Allen 40 (d.o.b. 7/10/1979), also of Roselle, entered a plea of guilty to one count of Forgery, a Class 3 Felony, the same day and was sentenced to thirty days in the DuPage
County Jail and two years of probation. Allen was also ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution.

Beginning in February 2012, through May 2014, Ramey recruited friends to provide personal information that Ramey then used to apply for admission to COD and for loans and grants from the Department of Education, awarded through COD. The recruits would then withdraw from the
courses resulting in refunds of tuition balances returned to them either via check made payable to the recruit or electronic deposit into the recruit’s bank account. The recruits would then split the refund with Ramey. The scheme began to unravel in 2013 when an individual reported that she had received a tuition bill from COD but she had never attended the college. In all, it is alleged that the pair stole more than $225,000.

“Mr. Ramey went through great lengths to steal more than a quarter of a million dollars from a publicly-funded institution of higher education,” Berlin said. “His actions however, not only damaged the College of DuPage, but almost certainly made obtaining financial aid for students with a legitimate need much more difficult. This was an extremely complicated case and I would like to thank authorities at the College of DuPage as well as the College of DuPage Police Department for their assistance in helping us unravel the defendant’s scheme. I would also
like to thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Lynn Cavallo and Matthew Dambach for their efforts in preparing a strong case against Mr. Ramey which ultimately led to his guilty plea and sentencing.”

Ramey will be required to serve 50% of his sentence before being eligible for parole. He will also be required to pay restitution in the amount of $216,817.

This press release was produced by the DuPage County State’s Attorney Office. The views expressed here are the author’s own.