Lakeland Woman Pleads Guilty to Education Loan Fraud

Memphis, TN – Kelli L. Pollard, 50, of Lakeland, Tennessee pled guilty to a criminal information, charging her with education loan fraud. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the guilty plea today.

According to the charging document and information presented in court, Kelli Pollard attended the University of Memphis as an undergraduate and graduate student between 2016 and 2022. In each of the five academic years between 2017 and 2022, Pollard obtained federally guaranteed student loans through fraud. She submitted falsified documentation for each student loan request to the University of Memphis Financial Aid Office, including three different fake doctors’ notes, falsified medical bills, and a false auto repair bill.

Sentencing is set for April 23, 2023, before United States District Judge Thomas L. Parker, where Pollard faces up to five years’ imprisonment, a $20,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by the United States Department of Education Office of the Inspector General and the University of Memphis Police Department.

United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Murrell Foster, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the case.

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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or cherri.green@usdoj.gov. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.