Colleges accused of tuition fraud

Out-of-state athletes attending as residents reported statewide

• By Joe Curley, Rhiannon Potkey
• Posted November 15, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.

Allegations that out-of-state community college athletes saved thousands of dollars in tuition by declaring themselves California residents, which led to the resignation of the Ventura College basketball coach and firing of the Oxnard College basketball coach last year, are spreading across the state.

Reports have surfaced at community colleges in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Pittsburg and Cerritos about falsification of state forms for out-of-state athletes in men's basketball and football programs.

"Certainly in basketball it has become a problem," said Rich Kollen, commissioner of the South Coast Conference in California's community college athletic system. "I think it's one of the things we are getting better at tracking. Things that happened in the past are very hard to cover up now."

Athletic scholarships are prohibited in California community colleges, and schools are prohibited from offering athletes any aid not available to all students. So declaring athletes to be California residents can save them up to $4,200 a year. It also makes them eligible for in-state financial aid.

Los Angeles City College was the latest school hit with the allegations.

Last month, Kollen ruled the school must forfeit its 22 men's basketball wins from the 2008-09 season, "citing L.A. City's use of ineligible players due to Form 1 (Student Eligibility) violations made by the college." The school had already suspended its athletic program, citing budget problems, leaving only the women's volleyball team to play this year.

"Basically what L.A. City went through is similar to what Ventura and Oxnard had gone through," Kollen said.

$4,000 per year per student

The Star reported in November 2007 that at least a half-dozen recent out-of-state Ventura College basketball players claimed to have lived in California, at a savings of $4,000 per year per student.

In January 2008, Ventura College ruled four out-of-state basketball players ineligible "based on the fraudulent applications that were filed by them or on their behalf." Two weeks later, Oxnard College did the same to two out-of-state basketball players.

Ventura coach Greg Winslow and Oxnard coach Jeff Theiler both lost their jobs over the incidents. Winslow resigned and Theiler was dismissed. Winslow has been charged with criminal fraud based on allegations stemming from that investigation.

The L.A. City forfeiture stemmed from reports in the college's newspaper earlier this year that five L.A. City basketball players on last year's team claimed to have attended Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, but officials at that school said they had never heard of them.

The issue goes back much further at L.A. City. In 1996, an audit found that six L.A. City basketball players who played in 1994-96 had been falsely admitted to the school as California residents without having resided in the state for at least one year prior to enrollment.

In addition, an investigation of L.A. City documents by The Star found that at least seven men's basketball players over the past six seasons had obtained discounted tuition by claiming to be military personnel or a dependent of someone on active military duty.

Clerical errors claimed

When reached by The Star, two of the players who received military discounts, David Cornwell and Clarence Matthews III, said they had no connection to the military. Attempts to reach the other five players were unsuccessful.

Like in-state residents, military enrollees pay $20 per unit. Out-of-state residents pay $181 per unit, plus an enrollment fee.

When asked why they were listed as military residents on their transcripts, Cornwell and Matthews - members of L.A. City's 2004-05 team - claimed it must have been clerical errors by the admissions office.

"That happens all the time because when the people type them in they're just speed typing," Cornwell said.

Cornwell, a Louisville, Ky., native, and Matthews, a Beaumont, Texas, native, both said they had never been to California prior to arriving at L.A. City, and were not aware of their tuition rates at any point in their L.A. City careers.

"I was just going out there for the love of playing basketball and not worrying about the money factor," said Matthews, who eventually played two years at Tennessee State. "I don't know exactly what it cost."

If the transcripts were intentionally doctored, the implications go beyond just receiving a tuition break, says Michael Josephson, founder and president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics.

"Claiming military status is so offensive to those who really are in the military," said Josephson, who has created specific sports training programs on ethics. "It is like using the handicap stall when you are not handicapped. It is just not permitted."

Not aware of an issue

After the 1996 audit at L.A. City College, the admissions office placed holds on the records of the athletes and charged them with additional tuition fees for being nonresidents. The additional fees totaled $28,063.

One of the players named in the audit said he was not aware there was ever an issue regarding his tuition and was never contacted about the issue.

"We weren't aware of anything. We just went to school and played basketball," said Anthony White, who played at L.A. City in the 1995-96 season before transferring to USC. " We didn't have no worries, everything was taken care of and we just went there and did what we had to do."

Similar claims of in-state residency were made by members of L.A. City's team last year.

The 2008-09 roster listed five players from Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley.

"I've never heard of those names, nor did they play for us," said Stoneridge Prep Principal Maria Arnold. "They were not enrolled. This is all just a big mess."

Two of the players, Antonio Owens and Marvin Coats, are listed as attending Stoneridge Prep's Tarzana campus, which closed in 2004.

'I never asked him why'

The story was first reported by L.A. City's school newspaper, the Collegian.

Owens, who actually graduated from Boyd County High in Ashland, Ky., in 2007 and attended Ware Prep in Atlanta in 2008, told the Collegian that L.A. City coach Mack Cleveland told him what to write on his athletic eligibility paperwork.

"I don't know why coach wanted to say I went to Stoneridge," Owens told the Collegian. "I never asked him why. I knew him. I didn't think he would do anything that would jeopardize me or my career."

Owens said he originally filled out the form with his correct information, but Cleveland told him to "do it over."

"He was just giving the answers," Owens said. "We put it on there. But it wasn't our information. We just listened."

When asked about the issue by Collegian reporter Mars Melnicoff, Cleveland replied, "If you want to stay here, I highly recommend that you drop this story. Can't you find something productive to focus your time on?"

Adding another layer to L.A. City's athletic turmoil, Mike Miller, who coached the L.A. City men's basketball team from 1992 to 2007, has filed a lawsuit against the school regarding his dismissal earlier this year.

Miller, who also served as the school's athletic director, alleges L.A. City President Jamillah Moore removed him on April 1 because of racial and age discrimination. Miller says Moore referred to him as "the old white guy" in conversations.

Neither Moore, nor Camile Goulet, a school lawyer, would answer questions about Miller.

'Who is in charge?'

Around the state, there have been several recent reports of out-of-state athletes paying in-state tuition.

The Santa Monica Daily Press reported in August that 15-year football coach Robert Taylor was dismissed this summer because of "serious violations relating to changing student residency status," according to school president Chui Tsang.

The Contra Costa Times reported in February that officials at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg uncovered "about a dozen" football players from Florida "pretending to be California residents to pay lower fees."

Cerritos College assistant football coach Patrick Callahan pleaded guilty in September 2006 to falsifying government documents. Callahan admitted to fraudulently obtaining $91,000 in federal grants for 13 players and also modifying applications from out-of-state players to indicate California residency.

His two-year jail sentence was suspended to 90 days and he was ordered to repay $70,758 to the U.S. Department of Education and $20,799 to Cerritos College.

"The fact that it is happening at multiple schools and not one school, I think, underlines the fact that there is a general culture in those people who are running the sports program," the ethicist Josephson said. "Some of them may be arguing they are doing it to even the playing field because others are doing it. But the real question is, who is in charge of enforcing the rules and why aren't they being enforced?"