ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A former Morris Brown College president was sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation and a year of home confinement for embezzling millions in federal loans and grants meant for student tuition.
U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes said the sentence for Dolores Cross, 70, was based on her age and health and because she did not benefit personally from the crime. The sentence was agreed on by prosecutors and Cross' attorneys. Dorothy Kirkley, one of Cross's lawyers, asked for a light sentence because she suffers from sleep apnea and has had a series of "mini strokes" since 2001.
Cross, who was president of the 125-year-old college from November 1998 until February 2002, pleaded guilty in May to embezzling $3.4 million in student loans and Pell grants. Cross and Parvesh Singh, the school's former financial aid and enrollment director, used the funds in part to cover $3.3 million in school debt and to pay for operating costs, Cross said.
Singh, 64, also was sentenced to five years probation Wednesday and 18 months home confinement.
In court statements, both Cross and Singh apologized to the students, parents and alumni.
"I am very sorry for the conduct that has caused me to plead guilty," Cross said. "I allowed this situation to continue even though, as president, I should have addressed it immediately."
The loans were applied for in the names of students who never attended the college, had already left or attended part-time, prosecutors said. Most of the students had no knowledge of the loans or that they would be expected to repay them, court documents said.