Religion and Politics

The Minister Who Went to Jail for Financial-Aid Fraud

For The Atlantic, Robyn Price Pierre profiles Dr. Ozel Clifford Brazil, a clergyman who helped thousands of African American teens—including Pierre—attend college, before being convicted for student-aid fraud in 2003. Brazil made it his mission “to usher as many African American students as possible off the streets and into college,” Pierre writes. “He wasn’t out to steal money,” Ed Robinson, Brazil’s attorney, explains. Brazil fudged finances for families who would otherwise have trouble applying for financial aid. The judge for Brazil’s case said, “I mean, even if he is Robin Hood, it’s still a crime.”

Read at The Atlantic

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