Lake in the Hills man gets jail for college loan fraud

A Lake in the Hills man was sentenced Wednesday to serve a year in prison for fudging his income to help his son get more financial assistance at Drake University.

William J. Falbo, Sr., 47, was convicted in federal court of obtaining federal education benefits through fraud and false statements. In addition to the year in prison, Falbo must also serve three years of supervised release and pay nearly $43,000 to the victims of his crimes.

According to a Department of Justice news release, Falbo, who agreed to pay for his son's college education after he divorced his son's mother, "falsely applied for federal grants and federally insured loans in his son's name, without his son's knowledge or permission."

To get the loans and grants for tuition at Drake, Falbo filed a false income tax statement, claiming his income in 2003 was $47,227. His actual tax return that was filed with the IRS showed his income was five times that amount - $233,403. Falbo also forged his son's name on various documents, the Department of Justice said.

The education fraud charge was one part of a four-count indictment filed in July of 2008. Falbo was also found guilty of opening a Fifth Third Bank account in his son's name and taking more than $23,000; and of wire fraud for applying for a Discover card in someone else's name, the Department of Justice said.