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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Theft of Financial Aid Refunds


On Thursday, October 21, college officials learned that the electronic financial aid refunds of two MCC students had been stolen. Over the following days, three additional students reported similar situations. An investigation by MCC’s Public Safety Department, the Brighton Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation resulted in an arrest of an MCC student on Thursday, October 28.

In response to the initial reported thefts, MCC discontinued all electronic refunds until further notice and shut down access to the electronic refund system. Students who were signed up for an electronic refund were notified of these steps on Friday, October 22 and, if they had not yet received their electronic refund, that they would receive a paper check instead.

On Friday, October 29, following the arrest, we advised students who were signed up for electronic refunds of the theft, of steps they should take to verify their refund was not impacted, and of ways to increase the security of their accounts and their identity. Additionally, we assured all students that they would receive the financial aid refund that is owed to them.

Our thanks go to the MCC personnel who responded quickly to the reported thefts and took quick action to minimize the impact, and to the Brighton Police Department and FBI for their assistance.

Preliminary findings indicate that this problem is limited to the five students. The investigation is ongoing.

Cynthia Cooper
College and Community Relations
11/01/2010