BATON ROUGE - Questions are being raised tonight over false promises tied to an apartment complex paid for with tax money.

At least $12 million was used to revitalize a section of Midcity with a brand new apartment complex, the Midcity Gardens Apartments, which turned a dilapidated section of town into a little oasis.

Two years after cutting the ribbon, signs of neglect plague the area. Now there are questions about promises made to the community which were not delivered.

Ashley Soelv is active in her community, and the push to make it better. When she got the opportunity to live in an urban neighborhood, she jumped at the chance.

"As a young black professional, it is very important for me to come back to my community, live here and do the same,"Soelv said. "When I see my community mistreated I have to say something."

That mistreatment is why she's speaking up today. Soelv is talkign about promises that were made during a ribbon cutting ceremony two years ago. At that time, 12 million dollars in federal money helped construct the complex. It was supposed to be complete with a fitness center, dance studio, and outdoor park. Tonight our cameras captured copy machines, cubicles, and chairs where fitness equipment should be. Nothing was happening in the dance studio.

"I thought I was coming home to live in an urban neighborhood and volunteer when I walk otu of my house, but instead that's not available to me," Soelv said.

In addition to the false promises when it comes to amenities, residents feel like they are living in a raggedy wasteland. Weeds tower over six feet and surround the complex. The brand new building is also surrounded by trash.

Councilwoman Tara Wicker is outraged.

"The community and everyone who bought into this project is owed an explanation," Wicker said.

We went looking for answers inside the front office. We were directed to the Louisiana Housing Corporation. Wicker says she has not been able to get a straight answer from them.

"Who's in charge, who do we ask the right questions to, and who's going to hold true to the promies that they made to this community," Wicker asked.

As for residents like Soelv, she believes people at the highest levels of government responsible for using your tax money should be held accountable for the mess.

"Everyone won't keep quiet,"Soelv said. "Some of us actually do care about our community, and some of us are willing to stand up and say something. It's not fair to tax payers, it's not fair to these tenants, and it's not fair to the mid city community."

The Louisiana Housing Corporation did not get back to us on a response for this story.

BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge Community College could lose its accreditation, depending on the results of an investigation currently underway by out-of-state investigators.

This is a story the Investigative Unit first reported Monday.

The National Center for Construction Education and Research, or NCCER, sent a team of auditors to BRCC after allegations surfaced that credentials for things like pipe fitting and welding were being passed out like hot cakes. The school received a multi-million dollar federal grant two years ago. The goal of the grant was to train students to learn a craft. At least 400 students received credentials, and sources within BRCC say hundreds are in question.

"Obviously this situation is concerning to us," Tim Johnson, NCCER Director for Government Relations. "That's why we sent a team here immediately to begin to look at what took place."

We talked to the President of NCCER via Skype.

"With the attention this circumstance has drawn, our auditor will be in here tomorrow and will sit down and look at those outcomes," Don Whyte, President of NCCER said.

Among those students with questionable credentials is Vincent Lee. He's a blind student who was certified by BRCC to be a pipe fitter. But, nearly a year after getting certified, he still can't find work.

"I'm willing to work, anything my way, I'll do it," Lee said.

Lee's instructor and sources in the program said Lee couldn't complete his work due to his disability, but he still managed to score a credential. Jeff Almond said he first notified program leaders about questionable credentials last year.

"I was told they didn't care if anyone got a job," Almond said. "The only concern they had was getting them through the program and out the door."

Almond is referring to Dr. Girard Melancon who was over the TAACCCT grant and the Director of Craft Initiatives Amanda Stanley. Sources said some program leaders were putting students names into a computer system to pass them, even if they didn't meet the requirements.

"That NCCER curriculum is very strict," Almond said. "It's nationally recognized credentials, they've just cheapened it."

That's the primary concern by NCCER leaders to make sure their credentials aren't being passed out to students who didn't earn them.

That's why BRCC's accreditation could be at stake.

"We will terminate and have terminated unwillful circumstances, but first and foremost we want to help organizations have a quality training program," Whyte said.

WBRZ requested an interview with Dr. Girard Melancon. Again, the school said no. The audit should wrap up next week.

BATON ROUGE - Serious questions are being raised about hundreds of credentials students received at Baton Rouge Community College.

Out of state investigators are digging deep into records at BRCC this week. It centers around hundreds of students who received credentials for trade jobs, where there's no proof they met all of the requirements.
     
All of this focuses on the multi-million dollar TAACCCT grant, or "Trade Adjustment Community College and Career Training." At least 400 students went through the federal grant-funded program, which required classes and hands-on work in order to earn its credentials, but hundreds of those students may have received credentials they did not earn.

The TAACCCT grant was supposed to help people learn a craft like pipe fitting and welding. Tonight, everything BRCC has done with this program over the past few years is being closely scrutinized by investigators from the national organization that puts their names on those credentials.

Vincent Lee proudly holds the credentials he received from BRCC this year. The certificates he's holding show he's a certified pipe fitter.

"I feel like I accomplished more," Lee said.

Despite having those credentials, Lee hasn't been able to find work since he received them. Part of that reason, could be his physical disability. Vincent Lee has been considered legally blind since he was born. Despite that blindness, Lee managed to get a certification showing he's a pipe fitter. The TAACCCT program at BRCC trained students for things like welding, industrial maintenance and pipe fitting. Lee was among 410 students who sailed through, but didn't complete all of the work.

Jeff Almond was Lee's teacher. 

"He tried hard and was a fair student, but with his handicap, no one can hire him for an industrial type job," Almond said. "It's too dangerous."

Almond witnessed an unusual number of students getting certified for work they never completed last year.

"I was told they didn't care if anyone got a job," Almond said. "The only concern they had was getting them through the program and out the door."

The "they" instructor Jeff Almond is talking about is program director Dr. Girard Melancon and Director of Craft Initiatives Amanda Stanley. Almond says he reported discrepancies to them, and nothing was done.

Almond estimates only 50-60 of the 400 students who went through the program legitimately earned their certifications. His claims are backed up by multiple other sources the Investigative Unit has at BRCC who confirmed this. One employee at BRCC was too afraid to give a name or show a face out of fear of retaliation.

"I can't sleep at night," the employee said. "This is something that is a huge injustice."

The Investigative Unit has been combing through dozens of student records leaked to us for months. At least 50 of them back up exactly what Almond and this employee are saying. Students got credentials despite failing tests, or not completing portions of their required hands on activities. In order to get a credential, everything needs to be completed.

So we had to ask if there was anyway this could be classified as a paperwork mistake or a clerical error.

"No," the employee responded.

Both of these BRCC employees say it was people in the program who were entering students into a computer system to "pass" them when they failed tests or didn't complete work.

The National Center for Construction Education and Research or NCCER has a team on campus. They are looking at hundreds of student records including Vincent Lee's. Lee received a certification but didn't complete all the work. Tonight, they are reviewing everything BRCC did.

It follows an audit the school already conducted. We made multiple requests to talk to Dr. Girard Melancon who was over the TAACCCT program, but were told we couldn't interview him. Instead, the school provided its spokesman.

"Our goal right now is to focus on and determine if there are errors in the program...and second determine the nature and third if there are what action we'll take," Spokesman Steven Mitchell said.

We had to ask why BRCC would issue credentials to students who didn't earn them. 

"Again, I don't want to speculate until our assessment is complete," Mitchell said.

As this investigation moves full steam ahead, the TAACCCT program will end next month, since BRCC didn't get the grant money to continue it. Tonight, employees say those over the program should be held accountable for failing students like Vincent Lee.

"We wasted that child's time and gave him hope that he could get a job making money," one employee said.

"They did a disservice to the students, taxpayers and contractors here in town," Almond said.

As for Vincent Lee, he's hoping this story will show despite his disability, he's willing to work even if it isn't in the pipe fitting industry.

"I'm just hoping a blessing comes," Lee said.

BRCC determined that the problem was serious enough to conduct an internal audit as we were investigating them.

Tonight, BRCC won't say whether it will be required to pay the money back from the TAACCCT grant. However it did say a corrective action plan will be drawn up, and that could include disciplining the employees over the program.