Senior Citizen's ID Stolen for Tuition Break

Sure, there are a lot of students out there with fake IDs. But the case we saw last week — where a Florida Atlantic University (FAU) stole a 71-year-old woman’s identity to receive in-state tuition — stands out as an anomaly among collegiate identity crimes.

According to The Palm Beach Post, 23-year-old Patricia Brandao surrendered to authorities on charges she had used a 71-year-old woman’s identity to receive the lower tuition rate. (At FAU, out-of-state students pay four times the amount of tuition paid by in-state students. University officials estimate Brandao, who is from Brazil, saved more than $50,000 in the course of five years).

Police told WPBF.com this was the first-of-its-kind identity theft in Florida.

The alleged theft was discovered only after Brandao, who graduated with a biological sciences degree in 2006, requested that her Social Security number be changed on transcripts she wanted sent to two medical schools. She was told she would need to bring in her original tax identification form to complete the change, but instead she brought in a copy that the registrar suspected had been altered. After being reminded she needed an original copy, she never returned to the registrar’s office again, according to WPBF.

A native of Brazil, Brandao is charged with identity theft, forgery, misrepresentation of academic standing and scheming to defraud. Media reports suggested it wasn’t clear whether the state attorney’s office would pursue all of the charges.


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