What Happens If You Deliberately Don't Report Assets on the FAFSA?

http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/3066-ask-kantro-what-happens-if-you-deliberately-dont-report-assets-on-the-fafsa?print=true

Failure to report assets on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is fraud. It doesn’t matter whether you keep the money in a safety deposit box or stuffed under your mattress. Failing to report the money is still fraud, since you will be making a false statement on the FAFSA in response to the question about the “total current balance of cash, savings and checking accounts.”

The penalties for providing false information on the FAFSA are severe. Per section 490(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 [20 USC 1097(a)], the penalties include a fine of up to $20,000 and/or up to 5 years in prison. These penalties apply both to attempts to receive and to the actual receipt of Title IV federal student aid through fraud, false statement or forgery. (The FAFSA also includes the following signing statement: “If you purposely give false or misleading information, you may be fined up to $20,000, sent to prison, or both.”) You will also be required to return all student aid, making it much more difficult for you to pay for college. Some colleges will expell students who submit falsified financial aid applications, as it is a violation of their honor code.