(JTA) — Federal agents raided the offices of a Jewish college in suburban Detroit.
On Tuesday, about 15 agents searched the Michigan Jewish Institute, which receives millions of dollars under the federal Pell Grant Program, the daily Forward first reported on Wednesday.
The Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education told the local 7 Action News that the raid was in connection with a department investigation.
The institute, which has about 2,000 students, said in a statement that it was continuing to operate while “cooperating fully with the federal employees.”
Over a five-year period ending in 2012, its students claimed more than $25 million in Pell grants, the Forward reported. Many of the institute’s students are living in Israel and are enrolled in distance and online learning courses.
Most of the onsite classes take place in West Bloomfield, Michigan, at a synagogue located on the 45-acre Campus of Living Judaism, which is affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
“Michigan Jewish Institute has provided educational opportunity and career pathways for thousands of students over many years and we are proud of our accomplishments,” the institute said, adding that it would not comment further.
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