Former Tucson School Director Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling From School, Students

     TUCSON, Ariz. – On Nov. 15, 2018, Robert Alan Knapp, 71, a former director of HDS Truck Driving Institute (HDS) in Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced to 48 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Màrquez.  Knapp had previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud and federal student aid fraud.

     In his plea agreement, Knapp admitted that while employed by HDS between 2008 and 2015, he stole over $905,000 by intercepting or fraudulently generating more than 400 checks payable to third parties that he deposited to a bank account he owned after adding forged indorsements.  Most of the stolen checks were payable to HDS’s students, and represented either federal student aid received from the Department of Education that should have been forwarded to the students, or funds taken from HDS to pay fictitious obligations that Knapp had created in HDS’s books and records.  The Court also ordered Knapp to pay restitution to all identified victims, and to make monthly restitution payments during a 5-year term of supervision to follow his release from prison.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.  The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER:                CR 17-1275-TUC-RM (JR)

RELEASE NUMBER:           2018-156_Knapp

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