Washington, DC – Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has filed a lawsuit against two officers in the Metropolitan Police Department for violating the DC False Claims Act by fraudulently enrolling their three children in DC Public Schools (DCPS). The suit accuses Lt. Alan Hill and Sgt. Candace Hill of using a false DC address to enroll their children, tuition-free, at public schools near the Second District police station in Cleveland Park.
District law requires that non-resident tuition be paid for each DC public school student who does not have a parent or guardian residing in DC In its lawsuit, the District alleges that, while the Hills were living in various locations in Maryland and Virginia between 2003 and 2013, their children attended DCPS campuses tuition-free. Two of the children attended DCPS from 2005 to 2013, and their third child attended DCPS from 2003 to 2013. Since it began suing parents for non-resident-tuition fraud in 2012, OAG has obtained 13 monetary judgments and five out-of-court settlements totaling $773,000, most of which are being collected through periodic payments or garnishments of wages.
The complaint against the Hills seeks recovery of $224,291 in unpaid non-resident tuition, plus penalties.
“You shouldn’t take advantage of the taxpayers of the District of Columbia and expect to get away with it, and suits like these are one of the tools we use to safeguard public integrity,” Attorney General Racine said. “I want to thank everyone from OAG, DCPS, and the Metropolitan Police Department who worked on this case. I’m particularly appreciative of the hard work of DCPS Investigator Resa Wynn and OAG Investigator Kenneth Algood, who labored for three months gathering evidence to ensure this case is a solid one.”
According to the District’s complaint (attached), the Hills informed DCPS that they were living at a DC address where, in fact, Mr. Hill owned a property that he was renting out to others. The District alleges that the Hills occasionally used a marked police cruiser from the Second District police station to drop their children off at school. The suit also alleges that, during the time period that their children attended DCPS schools, the Hills actually lived at homes in Mitchellville, Md.; Alexandria, Va.; and Accokeek, Md.
Please see attachments for more information.