The former owner and chief executive officer of Alden's School of Cosmetology and Alden's School of Barbering, Alden Hall, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison last week for a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Education and steal Pell Grant funds.
The court also ordered Hall to make restitution payments of about $276,000, and she will be under mandatory supervision once she's released from prison.
Hall was found guilty last year by a jury of three counts of theft of government funds, one count of fraudulently obtaining financial assistance funds and one count of money laundering through the Louisiana-based institution.
"This defendant -- over several years -- systematically used her position of authority and trust with her students to fraudulently steal funds meant to educate underprivileged students," said Corey Amundson, acting U.S. attorney, in a news release. "Today she has been held accountable for her fraudulent scheme and her efforts to conceal her criminal conduct. It is our hope that this sentence strikes a chord with anyone else who may be tempted to steal from the Department of Education."
