CEDAR FALLS - The Division of Criminal Investigation's probe into possible white-collar crime continues at the University of Northern Iowa's Malcolm Price Laboratory School.

Jessica Lown, a spokesperson for the agency, said DCI investigators are working with state auditors and the Iowa Attorney General's Office to determine what, if any, charges should be filed in the matter. Lown could not say when the investigation might conclude.

The state auditor's office on Thursday released a report that found 12 families living outside the school's attendance boundaries did not properly pay tuition and fees. The special audit, which covered the period from July 1, 2006, to March 31, 2009, found a difference of more than $250,000 between what families were charged and what they should have been charged by the school.

The audit has been turned over to the DCI and Iowa Attorney General's Office.

The school, part of UNI's College of Education, provides teacher education and research at early childhood, elementary, middle and high school levels.

Bob Brammer, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said no charges have been filed. He declined to speculate on what charges might be brought against those named in the audit.

However, Robert Rigg, director of the Criminal Defense Program at Drake University Law School, said the information could lead to criminal allegations.

"What you have is possibly fraud, if you can show there was intentional misrepresentation of a material fact to gain a benefit," he said.

The penalty would depend on the dollar value of the benefit. According to Iowa Code, first-degree fraudulent practices are defined as anything "where the amount of money or value of property exceeds $10,000." The charge is a Class C felony.

Second-degree fraudulent practices, when the total of value is between $1,000 and $10,000, is a Class D felony.

According the auditor's report, the families owed between about $9,760 and $47,700 in unpaid tuition and fees.

Rigg also said those who knowingly allowed their addresses to be used could also be charged.

"If you can show that there was a conspiracy or an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, the agreement itself and the overt act could be a separate crime of conspiracy. If I assist someone implicitly in committing a fraud or theft, then I could be brought in under a theory of aiding and abetting," Rigg said.

According to Iowa Code, conspiracy to commit a felony is a Class D felony.

A Class C felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A Class D felony is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine.

If convicted of aiding and abetting, those charged could face the same maximum penalty as the individuals they helped.