Radio Star Guilty Of Embezzlement

The former owner of a longtime broadcasting school was convicted Thursday of embezzling $270,000 in student loan repayments.

Radio personality Ronald Bailie, 59, who owned the Bailie School of Broadcast, was convicted of nine counts of embezzlement, false statement and criminal conspiracy after a U.S. District court jury trial, U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer said.

Bailie’s wife, Nada, 60, and daughter, Terri, 36, were also convicted of multiple counts. All three were from Edmonds.

The Bailie School taught radio and television broadcasting at campuses in Seattle, Spokane, Phoenix, Denver, San Francisco and San Jose.

The school administered various federal student financial aid programs throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including the National Direct Student Loan Program - later called the Perkins Student Loan Program.

Between 1988 and 1990, the Bailie School’s last period of operation, the three Bailies embezzled approximately $270,000 from these Perkins Loan Fund trust accounts, Pflaumer said.

Some 200 students did not receive credit for having made repayments until the Education Department later discovered the fraud.

Sentencing was set for Dec. 1 before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour. The Bailies each face a possible five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, as well as restitution.