<p>Last year my ex-husband tried to sway our son into living with him and attending Florida International, filling out the application, and he also filled out the FAFSA (although my son has never lived with him). S stayed with me and attended community college instead for the first year.</p>
<p>I completed the FAFSA for S going way to school next year, and today went online to look at the SAR. Lo and behold, there was the FAFSA my ex-husband completed last year. In it he said he was divorced rather than remarried, didn't include his wife's massive income, but did include her children and mother as his dependents, which brought his EFC down to $5000 (for someone who made $130k for that qualifying year- We had access to each other's tax records for 2010).</p>
<p>It looks squirrely to me that he would say he was divorced rather than remarried, not include his wife's income, but include her family as dependents. I would imagine there are many errors on FAFSA's, but that seems misleading.</p>
<p>Could this come back and haunt me in any way? Should I report it or let it go since my S did not end up going to FIU?</p>
<p>I honestly don’t know what to tell you. If your son had received need based aid based on this dishonest FAFSA, that could have been an issue. BUT he did not.</p>
<p>How did your former husband get your son’s PIN? He would have needed this to complete the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I think you need to contact a lawyer. You might not have anything to worry about - but then again, you might …</p>
<p>This seems like federal felony fraud… and by law if you do not report federal felony fraud you could be charged with a federal felony as well! Talk to the guy, tell him to fix it. If we doesn’t, report it to FAFSA or the federal government.</p>
<p>thumper1, he didn’t get my son’s PIN; he did the whole thing himself, including signing for my son.</p>
<p>He couldn’t sign for your son without the PIN. Good thing it didn’t go through. FAFSA uses an automatic link with the IRS now so the differences in the personal info between the taxes and the FAFSA filing would have been obvious.</p>
<p>He had my son’s PIN sent to his email and used it to sign for my son. My son knew nothing about the FAFSA last year.</p>
<p>I hope Kelsmom sees this thread. I think that the falsified FAFSA needs to be reported. You want to alert the FAFSA folks to this issue in case it is attempted again. I wonder if they will issue your son a new PIN which he should not share with anyone. That PIN is an important and confidential number that is also used for federal loan purposes. Did your son receive a financial aid award from any school last year based on this falsified FAFSA?</p>
<p>Dear Joe,</p>
<p>When I was helping Joe Jr. file the FAFSA this year, we saw the numbers in the system from when you filed it for him last year. As you know, I’m not privy to all the details of your financial life, but I noticed some errors. For example, only your income was included, not Dorabelle’s. Maybe you misunderstood, or maybe she didn’t think it should have to be included, but her income should have been. Stinks, I know that the stepparents’ incomes have to be accounted for if that is where the kid lives, but that’s how it is.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it really matters at this point because Joe Jr. stayed here instead, but you may want to update your part of that FAFSA just to be on the safe side. I think you have until June.</p>
<p>All the best to you, Dorabelle, and the little ones!</p>
<p>susanr64</p>
<p>thumper1, yes my S received a financial award from Florida International. I knew something was up when my ex emailed me the financial award last year, and I knew based on his income there was no way. I asked him to email me the FAFSA but he did not. However, my son did not accept it and chose to go to CC instead in Ohio and lived with me. He was granted a new pin after we sat down and worked on the FAFSA together for 3 schools he applied to as a transfer. Imagine my surprise when he got the SAR email and we saw the FAFSA from last year there.</p>
<p>I appreciate help from names I’ve recognized for years on here…you guys helped me when my D got a full scholarship 2 years back but her dad refused to pay half of her living expenses. I took him to court (Illinois), he got thrown in jail for contempt, and I know I am headed there again with my son. </p>
<p>happymomof1, love the message! Gave me a big smile. I need to decide if I should send him an email or wait until the inevitable legal proceedings with S’s college (I paid CC out of my own pocket).</p>
<p>They way you tell the story, it sounds like the false FAFSA was for last year, but wasn’ t used anyway since your S went to CC which you paid in full. This year (this fall) the FAFSA is based on what you properly entered yes? If so, what’s the issue, no aid was granted based on the false FAFSA.</p>
<p>^ that, in a more concise nutshell, is my question. At a minimum, I am concerned that the FAFSA’s are tied to my son’s SSN throughout his schooling years. Is it a problem having an older, fraudulent FAFSA tied to his SSN? Someone else mentioned an obligation reporting fraud, something else scary that I want to verify.</p>
<p>Since kelsmom doesn’t seem to have noticed this thread, I’d suggest you send her a PM. She’s likely to know the best thing to do in this situation.</p>
<p>But personally, I’d toss it all back on “Joe”. Maybe he falsified things. Maybe they were just dumb first-time-FAFSA-filer mistakes.</p>
<p>OP PM’d me & she should be all set.</p>
<p>Yay kelsmom! You are the best!</p>
<p>Thanks for your help everyone!</p>