CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former counselor at Greenbrier West High School is going to spend six months in prison for a mail fraud scheme.

United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced Friday that Mellissa Krystynak, 49, of St. Lucie, Florida was sentenced for the scheme that she executed while employed at the school in Charmco.

As part of the sentence, Krystynak is ordered to pay $13,750 in restitution to the victim scholarship organizations, and she was fined an additional $5,000.

A release by Stuart’s office stated that Krystynak was a school counselor at Greenbrier West from 2011 until 2017, where she used her position as a counselor to gain access to the school’s computerized grading programs to inflate at least thirty-four of her oldest daughter’s grades.

Two of Krystynak’s children attended the school while she was employed there.

After the inflation of grades, her daughter used them to apply for and receive over ten different college scholarships with a potential benefit of over $20,000.

Stuart released the following statement, “A college admission scandal right here in West Virginia. Hiking a daughter’s grades and changing a daughter’s boyfriend’s grades are both new ones on me. Although every parent with a teenager appreciates the fantasy, you just can’t do it even if you want to.

“Krystynak abused her position of authority to inflate her daughter’s grades and, adding even more harm, to use those fake grades to obtain college scholarships. Everyone deserves a level playing field.”