Paul Miller is a former Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's twenty-ninth House district, including constituents in Durham county.
In December 2004, Miller learned that the government would begin garnishing his wages, so he offered to make monthly payments of $200 to the U.S. Department of Education, the complaint said.
Four months later, Miller sent several letters to the garnishment branch of the Department of Education claiming that he had paid the debt in full in 1992 and enclosing copies of five canceled checks from 1992 totaling $20,500.
Miller was arrested June 8, 2006 on charges that he sent copies of doctored checks to the U.S. Department of Education to make it appear that he had paid off more than $20,000 in student loan debt to avoid garnishment of his pay.
When confronted in Atlanta with the copies of the checks archived by the Department of Education, Miller did not admit guilt but agreed to participate in an investigation, the complaint said.