June 8, 2011
A local news team in Stockton, Calif., interviewed a man who claimed that the Department of Education used a S.W.A.T. team to invade his house because of his estranged wife’s defaulted loans.
Kenneth Wright told the news channel that his door was broken down, he was handcuffed and then held in a S.W.A.T. car for six hours. Wright also said his three children, ages 3, 7 and 11 were traumatized by the incident.
News10 has since removed the interview with Wright.
The story has gone viral on the Internet, prompting the Department to tweet the following statement, “False story circulating suggesting that the Department of Education raided a Sacramento man’s home because his wife was late paying loans.”
Since that tweet earlier this afternoon, the Department has come out with an official comment. It is disputing the claim, but will not provide information about the situation. The Department claims it is an on-going investigation.
“We serve warrants from our office inspector general (OIG). We investigate criminal activity and beyond that we do not know,” said Department of Education Press Officer Sarah Gast. Another press secretary named Justin Hamilton confirmed that the OIG did order the action.
Judicially ordered warrants are public records, so it is not clear why the Department of Education refuses to provide details on why Wright’s door was knocked down.
UPDATE: Several news sources are now reporting that the DOE claims the raid had nothing to do with student loans.
UPDATE 2: Since the airing of the first report, Wright has hired a Sacramento-based attorney named Mark Reichel. Sara Gast followed up with an email today, clarifying her original statement.
“Yesterday, the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General executed a search warrant at a Stockton, Calif., residence with the presence of local law enforcement authorities.
While it was reported in local media that the search was related to a defaulted student loan, that is incorrect. This is related to a criminal investigation. The Inspector General’s Office does not execute search warrants for late loan payments.
Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, we can’t comment on the specifics of the case. We can say that the OIG’s office conducts about 30-35 search warrants a year on issues such as bribery, fraud, and embezzlement of federal student aid funds.
All further questions on this issue should be directed to the Department of Education’s Inspector General’s Office,” she wrote.
A call to Press Secretary Justin Hamilton’s direct line for additional comments was not immediately returned.
We will continue to update this story as developments warrant.
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