Penelope
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- Jul 15, 2014
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(Good job FBI)
FBI raids Michigan Jewish college suspected of defrauding federal government
Michigan Jewish Institute students claimed $25 million in Pell Grants; almost all of them took courses at yeshivas and seminaries in Israel that they never completed.
By The Forward and Paul Berger | Jul. 8, 2015 | 1:37 PM Federal agents raided the offices of a Jewish college that has prospered from millions of dollars in federal aid even though almost all its students live in Israel and hardly any of them graduate.
Federal officials declined to comment on the reason for the July 7 raid at Michigan Jewish Institute, in a suburb of Detroit.
But in 2012, the Forward showed how MJI’s assets soared as the college enrolled thousands of students in distance and online learning courses.
During a five-year period, MJI’s students claimed $25 million under the Federal Pell Grant Program, which is designed for the neediest American students.
Almost all those students took degree courses in Judaic studies at yeshivas and seminaries in Israel that they never completed.
MJI has grown from a college of about 300 students in 2004 to one with more than 2,000 students today. But when a Forward reporter visited MJI’s headquarters, in the leafy suburb of West Bloomfield, in 2012, the only students on campus were a couple of dozen high schoolers taking dual-enrollment Hebrew classes. That’s because almost all of MJI’s students live overseas.
Even so, because they are U.S. citizens they can claim financial assistance under the Federal Pell Grant Program, which is currently worth $5,730 per student.
MJI charges students an administrative fee of more than $2,500 for its study-abroad program in addition to the host school’s tuition fee.
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FBI raids Michigan Jewish college suspected of defrauding federal government
Michigan Jewish Institute students claimed $25 million in Pell Grants; almost all of them took courses at yeshivas and seminaries in Israel that they never completed.
By The Forward and Paul Berger | Jul. 8, 2015 | 1:37 PM Federal agents raided the offices of a Jewish college that has prospered from millions of dollars in federal aid even though almost all its students live in Israel and hardly any of them graduate.
Federal officials declined to comment on the reason for the July 7 raid at Michigan Jewish Institute, in a suburb of Detroit.
But in 2012, the Forward showed how MJI’s assets soared as the college enrolled thousands of students in distance and online learning courses.
During a five-year period, MJI’s students claimed $25 million under the Federal Pell Grant Program, which is designed for the neediest American students.
Almost all those students took degree courses in Judaic studies at yeshivas and seminaries in Israel that they never completed.
MJI has grown from a college of about 300 students in 2004 to one with more than 2,000 students today. But when a Forward reporter visited MJI’s headquarters, in the leafy suburb of West Bloomfield, in 2012, the only students on campus were a couple of dozen high schoolers taking dual-enrollment Hebrew classes. That’s because almost all of MJI’s students live overseas.
Even so, because they are U.S. citizens they can claim financial assistance under the Federal Pell Grant Program, which is currently worth $5,730 per student.
MJI charges students an administrative fee of more than $2,500 for its study-abroad program in addition to the host school’s tuition fee.
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