Maryland Parents Face Litigation Over False Residency Claims

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl A. Racine has announced lawsuits filed against 16 Maryland and Virginia parents—including six current or former District government employees—for falsifying District residency in order to send their children to District schools for free and acquire District public benefits.

In 10 separate lawsuits, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that these non-residents broke District law by sending their children to District schools without paying required non-resident tuition, and, in some cases, committing fraud to receive public benefits, including Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). OAG is seeking over $2.9 million in unpaid tuition, undeserved benefits, damages and penalties.

“These lawsuits should remind non-D.C. residents that there are consequences for breaking the rules to avoid paying non-resident tuition,” Racine said in a statement. “This is a message to everyone that residency fraud is a violation of the law, and our office will hold parents and guardians accountable for falsifying their residency to send their children to District schools for free.”

Parents, guardians or eligible caregivers who are District residents can send their children to the District’s traditional public or public charter schools free of charge. Non-residents can apply to send their children to District schools, but they must pay non-resident tuition, which typically costs between $10,000 and $14,000 per year. However, in most cases, even paying non-residents are not typically admitted to a District school if there are D.C. residents on that school’s waiting list. Additionally, medical or other benefits are only available to District residents.

Under the District’s False Claims Act, it is illegal to knowingly make false statements to conceal, avoid or decrease an obligation to pay the District. It is also illegal to knowingly cover up or avoid an obligation to pay the District, even if a person does not make any false statements themselves.

The District can seek to recover up to triple the amount that is owed in unpaid tuition if a court agrees and can also obtain civil penalties. This means that non-residents who send their children to District schools and do not pay the required tuition could face extremely steep costs if they are found liable for non-resident tuition fraud.

Latosha Joseph Francis and Mark Francis are a married couple who have sent their two children, and Joseph Francis’s son, to four District schools throughout 13 full school years between 2005 to 2019. Despite claiming residency in D.C., the family was living in Upper Marlboro during those years. Joseph Francis also obtained District Medicaid benefits for a part of this period. The District is seeking to recover unpaid tuition, benefits, damages and penalties from the defendants that could total $710,003.54.

Julia White is a former DCPS educational aide and the mother of co-defendant Kamechia White. Kamechia White of Suitland, Md., is the mother of three children, one of whom attended Miner Elementary, Langley Elementary and Peabody Elementary from 2010-2014. During this time, Kamechia White and her family lived in Maryland, but claimed District residency. In the 2013-2014 school year, Julia White submitted a false enrollment form stating she was Kamechia White’s son’s mother and providing a false District address while also living near Edgewater, Maryland. Both the Whites obtained District Medicaid benefits at points within this period and Kamechia White also obtained SNAP and TANF benefits from the District. The District is seeking to recover unpaid tuition, along with benefits, damages and penalties that could total $262,061.65.

Jocelyn Johnson is a Frederick, Md., resident who obtained District Medicaid benefits for her and her two children from 2012-2014, though they lacked District residency. The District is seeking to recover at least $32,902.46 in damages.

Lynette C. Broadus and Kevin J. Tolson are a married couple residing in D.C. The couple has one son, and Broadus has two other children. Each of the three children attended District schools—including Perry Street Prep Public Charter School, Kramer Middle School and Roosevelt High School—between 2011-2016. Broadus and Tolson were living in Virginia or Maryland (Forestville and Capitol Heights) during this period but claimed to be District residents in order to avoid paying non-resident tuition for their children. The District is seeking to recover unpaid tuition, damages, and penalties that could total $274,501.

Edward Smith and Rayna Bailey-Smith are a married couple with four children, who have attended several District schools since 2006. Smith is an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, while Bailey-Smith is a social worker with the DC Child and Family Services Agency. While the family lives in Accokeek, Md., Smith and Bailey-Smith claimed residence in D.C. in order to avoid paying non-resident tuition. The District is seeking to recover unpaid tuition, damages and penalties that could total $775,733.

Marcus and Marva Silver are a married couple living in Hyattsville, Md. Marcus Silver is an abandoned vehicle investigator for the Department of Public Works. The Silvers enrolled their daughter at two District schools—Shaed Elementary, now closed, and Langley Educational Campus—over three school years between 2009-2012, as if she were a District resident. The District is seeking to recover unpaid tuition damages that could total $27,459.

Amanda Turner enrolled her five children in District schools, including Wilson High School, Columbia Heights Educational Campus, and H.D. Cooke Elementary, for the 2013-2014 school year. In December 2013, Turner moved from the District to Takoma Park, Md., but did not inform the school or the District of her residency change. Despite the move, Turner submitted enrollment documents for her five children using a District address for the 2014-2015 school year, while remaining a Maryland resident. The District is seeking to recover unpaid tuition, damages, and penalties that could total $287,022.

LaFonta C. Dublin resides in Capitol Heights, Md. During a portion of the 2012-2013 school year and for the entirety of the 2013-2014 school year, her daughter attended Smothers Elementary School tuition-free despite lacking District residency. The District is seeking to recover unpaid tuition, damages, and penalties that could total $94,469.

Angel Matthews, a bus attendant for the District’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), allegedly enrolled her daughter at a D.C. middle school, then moved to Clinton, Md., without informing the District, Racine’s office asserts. The lawsuits also name former D.C. teacher LaShana Jamison Shubert, now of Hamlet, N.C., and her husband, Raymond Shubert, of Brandywine, Md.