Los Medanos students suspected in football-recruiting scam

Los Medanos College is investigating a football-recruiting scam in which players from Florida are accused of pretending to be California residents to pay lower fees.

About a dozen Los Medanos students — most or all of them football players — have been identified in the scam, said a source familiar with the investigation. The school has dismissed a football recruiter believed to have been involved.

Leaders at the 9,000-student Pittsburg community college were tight-lipped about details Monday, but Los Medanos President Peter Garcia said an employee tipped off authorities about a fraud in the fall. Investigators began looking into the case in November, he said.

About 12 students have been disciplined, although Garcia declined to elaborate on the punishment, citing privacy rules. The recruiter, an at-will hourly employee, was dismissed in late December, said Eugene Huff, the human resources director for the Contra Costa Community College District, to which Los Medanos belongs.

"We basically told the person that their services were no longer needed," Huff said.
Although the players were not named, several on the Los Medanos roster are from Florida. Los Medanos finished the fall season with a 2-8 record.

"Are you serious. They scam the system and then go 2-8"

A spokesman for the California Community College Athletic Association said the organization was aware of the allegations and was waiting for the investigation to finish before issuing sanctions.

California residents pay $20 per unit at the state's 110 community colleges, but students from other states and countries pay about 10 times that amount — around $200 per unit. For a full-time student taking 15 units, the difference amounts to about $2,100 per semester.
Asked about the accusations against his players, Los Medanos football coach Van Boschetti declined to comment.

"Currently, it's under investigation," he said. "We're trying to get all the facts together."
Police from the college district are investigating the case, the second major scam to hit the three-college district since 2007. That was the year Diablo Valley College uncovered a six-year-long cash-for-grades plot that led to felony charges against more than 50 former students.
Garcia said he does not know how long the residency scam has been running. After investigators finish looking into the violations that occurred this school year, they will start working back, he said.

"We'll go as far back as makes sense," he said, adding that the case will be sent to prosecutors for consideration of criminal charges.