BOSTON - A former employee of Suffolk University has pleaded guilty to student loan fraud for taking out federal loans despite a free education and faking her own grades.

The office of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said Ashley Ciampa, 28, of Medford, admitted obtaining nearly $48,000 by pretending to be a graduate student at Suffolk.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Ciampa began working in the Registrar's Office in 2009 and, in 2013, enrolled in the school's MBA program free of charge as an employee. Over the course of several semesters, she used her computer access to assign herself passing grades in courses she never attended, including an "A" in an ethics class.



Prosecutors say she used the fraudulent student loan money on personal expenses and vacations.

Ciampa faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $20,000.