| AwardYear: 1996-1997 ChapterNumber: 5 ChapterTitle: Overpayments, Referrals, and Suspected Fraud Section: Referral of Fraud Cases PageNumber: If you suspect an applicant, employee, or other individual has misreported information and/or altered documentation to increase his or her student aid eligibility or to fraudulently obtain federal funds, you should report your suspicions (and provide any evidence) to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) or to local law enforcement officials. Telephone numbers for the eight regional offices of the Inspector General are listed below: Boston, MA (617)223-9301 New York, NY (212)264-4104 Philadelphia, PA (215)596-1021 Atlanta, GA (404)331-2087 Chicago, IL (312)353-7891 Dallas, TX (903)769-3361 Denver, CO (303)844-4517 San Francisco, CA (415)556-6726 OIG HOTLINE 1-800-MISUSED Signs of Student Aid Fraud - forged, falsified, or counterfeit documents - irregular signatures and certifications - false or fictitious names, addresses, and SSNs - consistently misreported information - false claims of dependency and/or citizenship status - offered and/or paid "kickbacks" to school staff - unreported or misreported receipt of student aid [[The "Overpayment Referral Format" on page 66 is currently unavailable for viewing. Please reference your paper document for additional information.]] *12* For FSEOG and Federal Perkins Loan purposes, if the student's total resources exceed his or her need by no more than $300 in excess of the amount for which he or she was eligible, it is not considered an overpayment as long as the overaward occurred as a result of additional resources becoming available. If the overaward is a result of school error (rather than additional resources becoming available), this option does not apply. |