BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — A former high school counselor in West Virginia has pleaded guilty to using a school computer program to inflate grades for her daughter in order to obtain college scholarships.
U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart says 49-year-old Mellissa Krystynak of Stuart, Florida, entered the plea to a mail fraud scheme. The scheme occurred when Krystynak was a counselor from 2011 until 2017 at Greenbrier West High School, where two of her children attended.
Stuart says she used her administrative access to change at least 34 of her daughter's grades. Her daughter then applied for and received more than 10 different college scholarships.
Krystynak faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been set for May 16 in federal court in Beckley.