A former top director of Howard University’s bursar’s office pleaded guilty Friday to stealing nearly $140,000 from the university.
Doemini Mosley, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court. As part of the plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Mosley faces 10 to 24 months in prison and must repay nearly $140,000 in restitution as well as an additional $86,000 in forfeiture funds.
Mosley worked at Howard from 2011 through 2017, initially in the university’s financial aid office and then as associate director of the university’s bursar’s office.
An ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington office determined that she conspired with another Howard financial aid office employee to steal from the university, the government said.
Prosecutors in the fraud and public corruption section of the U.S. attorney’s office for the District said it was Mosley who hatched the scheme to steal the funds. Mosley collaborated with Brian Johnson, 35, an alumnus of the university who later served as associate director of Howard’s financial office from 2014 through 2016, prosecutors said.
In fall 2016, Mosley proposed sending the fraudulently-obtained financial aid funds from Howard to Johnson, prosecutors said. Johnson would then give half the proceeds to Mosley in cash or electronic transfers, prosecutors said. As part of the scheme, according to the government, Mosley applied the funds to Johnson’s student account even though he was no longer a student or employed at the school. Prosecutors said Mosley forwarded more than $107,000 to Johnson’s bank account from November 2016 to May 2017.
Last week, Johnson pleaded guilty to the same offense and admitted to sharing half the proceeds with Mosley. Mosley is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 25. Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 25.
The plea agreements were part of a 2018 investigation by Howard University that resulted in the termination of six employees, including Mosley and Johnson.
Keith L. Alexander covers crime and courts, specifically D.C. Superior Court cases, for The Washington Post. Alexander was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that investigated fatal police shootings across the nation in 2015. He joined The Post in 2001. He previously worked as a reporter for USA Today, BusinessWeek and The Dayton Daily News.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/former-head-of-howard-universitys-bursars-office-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-more-than-140000/2020/07/24/099f2862-cddb-11ea-bc6a-6841b28d9093_story.html