Owner of Memphis Barbering and Cosmetology School Convicted of GI Bill Fraud

Memphis, TN – Quannah Fields Harris, 53, of Germantown, was convicted after a jury trial on October 29, 2025 of conspiracy to defraud the United States and wire fraud.

According to the facts presented at trial, Harris was the owner of Last Minute Cuts School of Barbering and Cosmetology, a purported barbering and cosmetology school located at 2195 South Third Street in Memphis, from 2014 to 2019. During this period, Harris engaged in a scheme that defrauded the GI Bill, a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) designed to help veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, out of over $625,000.

Harris billed the VA for numerous veterans she enrolled at Last Minute Cuts who attended few, if any, classes, who received no instruction, did no practical exercises, took no tests or exams, and never obtained a state barbering or cosmetology license. Her school was, in reality, a sham. Many of the veterans Harris enrolled at Last Minute Cuts never set foot in the school again after the day Harris enrolled them; yet, Harris billed the VA for years thereafter for their purported attendance.

"Protection of the United States Treasury and the integrity of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is a top priority for the Department of Justice and this office. This guilty verdict demonstrates our ability and resolve to expose fraudulent schemes against the government, hold offenders accountable for their dishonest criminal conduct, and to recover ill-gotten proceeds on behalf of the United States," said D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

“Safeguarding Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit funds reserved for deserving veterans remains a priority, and our investigators are working diligently to ensure these programs are not exploited for financial gain and greed,” said Special Agent in Charge Nate Landkammer with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General's Mid-Atlantic Field Office. "The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of VA's education benefits programs.”

“This guilty verdict sends a clear message to those who attempt to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance benefits programs,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge John Abram, Charlotte Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS CI’s collaborative investigative efforts alongside our law enforcement partners led to justice against those stealing from the federal government and subsequently the taxpayers.”

Harris is set to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr. on January 27, 2026. She faces a maximum sentence of 45 years.

This case was investigated by the VA-OIG and IRS-CI with assistance from Veterans Benefits and Education Services.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tony R. Arvin on behalf of the government.

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