Weston Man Charged with Wire Fraud in International Student Recruitment Scheme

BOSTON – A Weston man was arrested and charged yesterday in connection with a scheme to defraud private high schools and international students of millions of dollars in tuition and other fees.

Keenam “Kason” Park, 59, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed today with one count of wire fraud. Park was arrested yesterday and appeared in federal court in Boston.

According to the complaint, between approximately 2010 and 2019, Park’s company, K&B Education Group, LLC, which did business under the name EduBoston, partnered with private high schools across at least 10 states, including Massachusetts, to recruit international students for enrollment. EduBoston collected tuition and other fees from the students’ families and was supposed to pay the students’ tuition to partnering schools prior to the start of each academic year. Park allegedly caused EduBoston to collect tuition and other payments from students’ families for the current academic year but failed to remit tuition payments to partnering schools. Instead, Park used the funds on unrelated expenses, including personal expenses. Park is also alleged to have caused EduBoston to collect advance tuition and other payments for the 2020-2021 academic year, which Park has failed to return to the students’ families. On or about Sept. 26, 2019, EduBoston announced that the company would be going out of business effective immediately. To date, Park has allegedly failed to pay the tuition owed, and has advised partnering schools that EduBoston is unable to pay.  The complaint alleges that records prepared by a consulting firm on behalf of EduBoston show that the company owes over $5 million to partnering schools.

Anyone with questions, concerns or information regarding this case can email edubostoncomplaints@fbi.gov.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie A. Wright of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.