Private tutors faked attendance at their sessions for hundreds of Columbus, Ohio, students, bilking taxpayers out of more than $800,000, according to a state audit of a now-halted federal program.
State Auditor Dave Yost revealed the findings of a four-year investigation into tutoring fraud last week.
Investigators found 382 students didn’t attend all the tutoring claimed, and 21 providers billed and received payment for tutoring after students had already withdrawn from schools. Columbus schools received more than $3.7 million in federal grants before the state opted out of the Supplemental Educational Services program, in part because of widespread fraud.
