<p>Your cousin needs to go sit down with the head of financial aid, and talk about this. He/she should bring all of his/her records including his/her notes about the various conversations held with whoever it was who approved the last batch of aid. If the aid was distributed in error, then yes, your cousin is responsible. The head of the financial aid office will be able to look through the details with your cousin, and will be able to explain to your cousin what went wrong.</p>