The United States obtained a civil judgment of nearly $1 million in connection with fraudulent veterans assistance claims made by barber school and salon owner April Tucker Beard. In October 2023, the US filed a civil complaint against these defendants pursuant to the False Claims Act alleging that Beard knowingly defrauded VA’s Post-9/11 GI Bill education assistance program by falsely certifying 1,500 hours of formal class instruction. Beard and her school charged grossly inflated tuition and fees for VA students in the amount of $22,400 as compared to $2,400 for non-VA students. Beard did not regularly conduct classes or otherwise provide instruction and most of the veteran students did not receive certificates of completion nor test with the Mississippi State Board of Barber Examiners to fulfill licensing requirements. As a result of Beard’s false certifications, she fraudulently received $235,734 in tuition payments.
