Bogus Texas Student Gets Jail Time

Man must also repay $37,000 in loans

A 48-year-old Dallas man who stole an identity and faked being a college student to get loans has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.

A federal judge in Austin on Tuesday sentenced Solomon Hobbs Jr., also known as Virgil Clinton Powell. Hobbs also must repay more than $37,000 in student loans.

Hobbs in August pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, three counts of student assistance program fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Investigators say Hobbs, since 2004, used another person's name in a student loan scam targeting the University of Texas at Tyler, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Texas at Arlington, Midwestern State University and Texas State University.

Investigators say Hobbs never planned to use the money for school.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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