Here’s the thing, when you take out student loans you sign a promissory note saying you’ll use the funds to pay for tuition related costs. If you don’t, then you’re committing something called student loan fraud. That’s apparently the case for a Pennsylvania man who must now stand trial for taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of student loans in his stepdaughter’s name only to use the money himself.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that a Butler County district judge ordered the man to stand trial on charges that he took out fraudulent private student loans in his stepdaughter’s name and deposited the funds into his business account.

The 52-year-old man faces counts of theft, receiving stolen property and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.

Local authorities say the man’s stepdaughter is now $400,000 in debt for her education at Geneva College, thanks in part to interest rates and late payment fees.

The woman, who graduated with an education degree in 2009, says her mother and stepfather agreed to pay her student loans, which should have totaled about $79,000.

However, the Tribune-Review reports that her stepfather borrowed the $79,000 and much more – $262,504 more to be exact – by applying for and completing paperwork in his stepdaughter’s name.

According to a previous Tribune-Review story on the case, when the checks would arrive, the stepfather would have the young woman sign the back. She says she never actually looked to see how much the checks were for, but assumed it was the previously agreed upon amount.

The man then deposited checks into an account for his business and added the woman to the business account as a signator, according to local detectives.

Authorities say there is no record that any of the money actually went toward his stepdaughter’s education.

Adams man faces trial on charges of misusing stepdaughter’s student loans [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

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