A former Hillsboro man has pleaded guilty to using a false identity to gain admission as a full-time student during the 2013-2014 school year at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reports.
Malachi Duncan, 32, used another person’s name, Demarcus Brewster, and information to get financial aid, student housing and on-campus employment, the office reported.
The actual Demarcus Brewster was part of the scheme and already has been sentenced in the case.
Duncan was arrested in March, several months after he was charged in connection with the case, in Memphis, Tenn., where he also used false information about his identity to attend the University of Memphis, the report said.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit student loan fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, both felonies. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a fine up to $250,000 for the student loan fraud charge and a “statutory mandatory two-year term” in prison for the identity theft charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
Sentencing for Duncan is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Assistant U.S. attorney Jennifer Roy is handling the case.
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.