A former Hillsboro man has been charged with “multiple fraud charges for orchestrating a scheme to commit student loan fraud, mail fraud, Social Security fraud, and identity theft,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office reports.
On March 1, several months after he was charged, Malachi Duncan, 32, formerly of Hillsboro, was arrested in Memphis, Tenn., where he allegedly was enrolled at the University of Memphis under an assumed name -- Demarcus Brewster, the report said.
The actual Demarcus Brewster was part of the alleged scheme and already has been sentenced n the case.
Duncan allegedly had “used the pedigree information of co-conspirator ‘Demarcus Brewster’ to enroll and gain admission as a full-time student during the 2013-2014 school year at Jefferson College in Hillsboro,” according to the indictment.
As part of the scheme, Duncan “fraudulently used Brewster’s identity to obtain federal financial aid, student housing, and on-campus employment,” the report said.
In October 2016, a federal grand jury handed down a 10-count indictment charging Duncan with one count of conspiracy, two counts of identity theft, two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of fraudulent production of an identification document, three counts of Social Security fraud and one count of bank fraud, all felonies.
If convicted Duncan faces up to 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million.
On Wednesday (March 22), Brewster was in federal court in St. Louis for his “initial appearance hearing,” and he was being detained today (March 23) in the area, said Terri L. Dougherty, executive assistant for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In June 2016, the real Demarcus Brewster pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit student loan fraud, and in September 2016, U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced him to seven months in prison and ordered him to pay restitution to the U.S. Department of Education.