Danville man sentenced on fraud and identity theft charges

Published March 6, 2019 by Michael O'Connor

A Danville man has been sentenced to almost a decade in prison on fraud and identity theft charges.

Tyrone Dwayne Young, 30, was sentenced Tuesday to 111 months in federal prison and has been ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.1 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Virginia announced.

In November, Young pled guilty to one count wire fraud, one count of student loan fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Young’s fraudulent activity involved the personal information of more than 60 people. His scheme resulted in an attempted loss of $1.4 million to the Department of Education and the affected schools.

Young has to pay restitution to the U.S. Department of Education along with the following schools: Liberty University, Strayer University, Capella University, Post University, the University of Phoenix, Derry University, Kaplan University and Argosy University.

Young’s fraud stemmed from enrolling dozens of people in online universities for personal gain. He used personal identifiers of family members and friends to enroll them as students in online schools so he could get federal loans in their names. Young tracked and orchestrated getting the fraudulent student loans for his own use.

Young took his scheme beyond just his immediate circle of family and friends. He posed as a higher education employee and encouraged low-income residents in the Danville area to provide personal information with the promise of free government money.