Suffolk employee who gave herself high marks for classes she never took admits she failed at obeying the law

A former employee of the Suffolk University registrar's office admitted today she gave herself an A in a class she never actually took - business ethics - and passing grades in other classes so she could get federal student loans, the US Attorney's office in Boston reports.

Ashley Ciampa, 28, now faces sentencing Oct. 28 on the charge of student-loan fraud for the more than $40,000 in loans she obtained based on classes she didn't actually take, the US Attorney's office says:

In 2009, Ciampa began working in the Registrar’s Office at Suffolk University. In 2013, she enrolled in Suffolk’s MBA program free of charge as an employee. In a first-semester business ethics class, Ciampa failed to attend class or complete the required coursework, but instead used her computer access in the Registrar’s Office to assign herself an “A” for the course. In subsequent semesters, she repeatedly assigned herself passing grades for classes she never attended. By maintaining the appearance that she was a graduate student, she was able to borrow $47,453 in federal student loans beginning in 2014, which she spent for vacations and other personal expenses.