Trump admin tightens vise on student aid fraud in ‘ghost student’ crackdown
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is stepping up its crackdown on fraud and "ghost students," launching a real-time fraud detection tool for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is stepping up its crackdown on fraud and " ghost students ," launching a real-time fraud detection tool for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Fox News Digital learned. "Instead of student aid and education grants going to students who deserve it, corrupt Democrats and the inept bureaucrat class of the Biden Administration allowed it to flow straight into the pockets of fraudsters for years," a spokesperson for Vice President JD Vance, who President Donald Trump recently tapped as the administration's fraud czar, told Fox News Digital. The Department of Education launched a screening tool Monday morning directly into the FAFSA process that flags potentially high-risk applicants, requiring them to provide government-issued identification before accessing federal student aid, including Pell Grants and loans. The Education Department estimates its efforts to identify and deny aid to fraudulent students will save taxpayers over $1 billion during this year’s FAFSA cycle, with the tool already screening 50,000 applications as of Monday afternoon. READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD The new fraud detection efforts follow a surge in "ghost student" scams tied to loosened verification requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic , according to the Department of Education. Ghost students are a growing trend involving fabricated or stolen identities, often powered by AI bots or criminal networks using real Americans’ personal information, used to enroll in programs, trigger financial aid disbursements, and then disappear. SBA FREEZES OVER 100,000 CALIFORNIA BORROWERS IN SWEEPING $9B PANDEMIC FRAUD CRACKDOWN "Americans deserve education. Fraudsters deserve nothing," a senior White House official told Fox News Digital. Key verification safeguards were removed during the COVID-19 pandemic under the Biden administration, the Education Department reported, when less than 1% of stu…