The Stenotype Institute in Jacksonville, Florida.
Gloria Wiley, the former owner of the Stenotype Institute of Jacksonville, located in Jacksonville, Florida was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for her failures to refund federal student aid money. This aid money was commonly referred to as ‘Stafford Loans’ and ‘Pell Grants’.
Wiley plead guilty November 13th, 2018.
The court also ordered Wiley to pay nearly $289,000 in restitution to former students of the Stenotype Institute, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to the final judgment signed by Senior U.S. District Judge Harvey Schlesinger, Wiley must pay up to 50 percent of her income, if she works in a federal prison industry, to the clerk of the U.S. District Court.
After being released, she is required to repay the government $300 per month until the reimbursement is satisfied. She actually faced a maximum penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. So she lucked out.
Wiley, 73, was the owner of Stenotype Institute of Jacksonville Inc., a Jacksonville-based stenography school that opened in 1940. The school provided professional education to students pursuing stenography careers, including court reporting and medical transcription.
The business was authorized to receive federal student aid funds from the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of its students to cover tuition, fees and living expenses. Excess funds drawn on behalf of students were required to be refunded to the U.S. Department of Education or to the student within 45 days.
But starting in June 2015, instead of refunding the excess funds, Wiley and her staff began tracking the amounts owed in a spreadsheet. Meanwhile, Wiley continued to draw funds from the school for personal use which is illegal.
According to court documents, Wiley and the institute held about $290,000 in refunds due to the U.S. Department of Education and to former students, and $9,000 due to the Department of Veterans Affairs, none of which were ever paid.
The Stenotype Institute closed in March 2016, soon after an on-site program inspection by the U.S. Department of Education.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.
This is a real shame because there is a dire shortage of court reporters aka stenographers in the United States and especially Florida. These type of schools are sorely needed. When a school like this closes down, everybody loses. Gloria Wiley has truly done a disservice. She is now paying the price.
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