Feds: College Financial Aid Officer Stole $22K From Students

ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a 43-year-old Alexandria woman has been sentenced to a year in prison for stealing more than $22,000 from students at a private college. U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley says Makquel Gailes also must pay $22,700 restitution.

Finley says Gailes was a financial aid officer at Unitech Training Academy's Alexandria campus. The school's website lists programs in daycare management and medically related fields.

Finley says that when a student's federal financial aid was greater than school cost and expenses, Gailes would ask Unitech for refund checks. She'd send those to the students, then tell the students that they owed fees which they should pay to her in cash.

Gailes pleaded guilty in August to one count of mail fraud.

U.S. District Judge Dee Drell sentenced her Friday.