WASHINGTON, D. C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced today that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has won a $539,000 judgment against a couple for fraudulently enrolling their three children in D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) while they lived in Maryland and Virginia. The decision comes in District of Columbia v. Hill, et al., 2015 CA 004210 B (D.C. Super. Ct.), a case the District first brought last year.

While residing at homes in Maryland and Virginia, Alan and Candace Hill avoided paying non-resident tuition for their children by providing a false D.C. address -- the address for an apartment unit that Alan Hill rented out to tenants -- on enrollment forms they submitted to DCPS. Two of their children attended DCPS from 2005 to 2013, and their third child attended DCPS from 2003 to 2013. At no point during this period did the Hills live in the District.

“D.C. taxpayers should not be subsidizing the education of children from other states,” Attorney General Racine said. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who falsely claim District residency in order to obtain government benefits to which they are not entitled.”

In her order granting a judgment for the District, Judge Ronna Lee Beck of D.C. Superior Court awarded the District $448,047 in “treble,” or triple, damages under the D.C. False Claims Act. She also awarded $74,219 for unjust enrichment and civil penalties totaling $16,500.

“I want to recognize the hard work of Assistant Attorney General Robert Rich as well as the extraordinary efforts of OAG Investigator Kenneth Algood and DCPS Investigator Resa Wynn, who gathered the extensive evidence needed to build a solid case against the Hills,” Attorney General Racine said.

Since it began suing parents for non-resident-tuition fraud in 2012, OAG has obtained 24 monetary judgments and out-of-court settlements totaling $1,243,194. Most of these judgments and settlements are being collected through periodic payments or garnishments of wages.