Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl A. Racine says the judgment against the couple, Alan and Candace Hill, stems from a lawsuit his office brought last year. The suit alleged that between 2003 and 2013, the Hills—both of whom are D.C. police officers— lived in either Maryland or Virginia, but their children were enrolled in Washington, D.C. public schools.
Two children were enrolled in D.C. schools from 2005 to 2013, and a third child attended D.C. schools from 2005 to 2013.
Racine says in a news release that the Hills "avoided paying non-resident tuition for their children by providing a false D.C. address -- the address for an apartment unit that Alan Hill rented out to tenants -- on enrollment forms."
“D.C. taxpayers should not be subsidizing the education of children from other states," Racine says. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who falsely claim District residency in order to obtain government benefits to which they are not entitled.”
Non-resident tuition for D.C. schools for years in question ranged from about $7,000 to $10,000 a year, the lawsuit said.
Judge Ronna Lee Beck of D.C. Superior Court awarded Washington, D.C., $448,047 in “treble,” or triple, damages under the D.C. False Claims Act. She also awarded $74,219 for unjust enrichment and civil penalties totaling $16,500.
Racine says that since 2012, his office has obtained 24 monetary judgments and out-of-court settlements totaling $1,243,194.
