Ex-Texas Southern adjunct instructor charged with stealing $600K in fraudulent student loans

A former Texas Southern University employee faces seven federal charges alleging that he fraudulently obtained $600,000 in financial aid by enrolling "students" in Texas colleges and universities and submitting their loan applications for personal gain, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Emmanuel Finnih, a 39-year-old from Richmond, is accused of using the fraudulent or stolen identifiers of 32 alleged students to obtain their financial aid. Brenton Keith Jackson, Sr., who is representing Finnih, said he looks forward to defending his client in court. Finnih is “highly intelligent,” he said, and was working at TSU “trying to help young people find their paths.”

He allegedly enrolled the students at eight institutions: Houston Community College, Lone Star College, Texas Southern University, Blinn College, Tarrant County College District, Wharton County Junior College, Lee College and Austin Community College. Most of them did not attend, and they either failed or were withdrawn from their courses. Since 2017, Finnih used others’ personal identifiers to prepare, submit and sign financial aid applications and master promissory notes in their names, authorities allege in the indictment. He also used mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email accounts he controlled to make sure communications and funds went directly to him, according to the charges filed by the attorney's office's Southern District of Texas. He obtained the financial aid refunds by way of electronic transfer, check and prepaid debit cards – in all, costing the U.S. over $595,000, federal federal attorneys say. Finnih is also accused of stealing the identities of two alleged students. He and other unidentified individuals, who aided him in the process, used other people's documents some of the applications, such as temporary driver permits or ID cards, according to the indictment.