Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Former DSU official pleads guilty to bribery in tuition scheme

Former Delaware State University Associate Registrar Crystal Martin's LinkedIn picture

A former Delaware State University official pleaded guilty to a bribery charge in federal court Wednesday.

It stems from Chrystal Martin’s role in a scheme that cost DSU millions of dollars while she was the Associate Registrar at the school.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, court documents and statements show Martin changed the registration status of hundreds of out-of-state students so that they could pay the reduced in-state tuition, which is less than half the out-of-state cost.

Martin reportedly received over $70,000 in bribe payments between 2013 and 2017 for her part in the scheme.  It’s estimated DSU lost more than $3 million in tuition payments during that period.

 

“We are aware of the guilty plea of Crystal Martin, a former Delaware State University employee, and have been working in close cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office," said DSU Director of News Services Carlos Holmes in a statement. "Given the ongoing criminal proceedings, the University cannot comment at this time.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss says in a statement that Martin “abused her position at a public university to personally profit and to defraud her employer.” He adds that “individuals who accept bribes while serving in a public capacity risk undermining trust in those institutions.”

According to the Department of Justice, Martin faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is set for July.

 

The case was investigated by the Delaware State Police, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Education and the Delaware Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust.

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.