A 60-year-old grandmother from Fayetteville is trading her home for a federal prison cell after orchestrating the largest student aid fraud scheme in North Carolina’s history. Cynthia Denise Melvin was sentenced to five years behind bars by Chief Judge Richard E. Myers II, following a massive investigation into a web of “straw students” used to siphon millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Education.
The operation, which spanned seven years from 2016 to 2023, involved Melvin recruiting roughly 80 individuals to pose as students.
Using their personal information, she applied for federal financial aid at several North Carolina institutions, including Wake Tech, Cape Fear Community College, and Fayetteville Tech…