'Ghost Students:' The digital network of thieves posing a 'major threat' to CA Community Colleges

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- "Ghost students, I would see to beryllium those individuals, who are fake students," says Mikki Johnson, Financial Aid Director for Fresno City College.

Hidden down machine screens, an service of integer crooks, known arsenic 'Ghost Students.'

These scammers are utilizing the powerfulness of artificial quality to bargain identities and enroll successful schools to entree loans. They vanish arsenic soon arsenic they person money.

"It's a immense issue, successful the pandemic erstwhile we went to online learning, we learned that it truly did unfastened the door," says Jason Williams, U.S. Department of Education Assistant Inspector General for Investigation.

Community colleges, crushed zero for the monolithic scheme. One assemblage assemblage successful the Bay Area had a 50-person online people capable up successful minutes, with 100 connected the waitlist. Only six of those turned retired to beryllium existent students.

"They thin to people assemblage colleges due to the fact that we are open-access institutions, truthful we don't person needfully the rigorous requirements done the admissions process that immoderate of our four-year universities have," says Johnson.

Mikki Johnson is the Director of Financial Aid astatine Fresno City College, she sees the scams firsthand. Her bureau identifies antithetic enactment and tracks communal trends.

"We are perpetually trying to support up with however they're evolving due to the fact that it is. Things change, and we're trying to enactment 1 measurement up of the atrocious actors," says Johnson.

According to the California Community Colleges successful 2024, much than 31% of each applications statewide were fraudulent. That equals astir 3 cardinal dollars mislaid successful authorities backing and 10 cardinal successful national funding.

There are aggregate victims successful this scenario, the authorities and national government, the colleges, and the radical whose identities are stolen.

Victims person reported going done respective months of painstaking documentation - to beryllium they are not liable for repaying loans taken retired successful their names. It tin besides interaction their recognition scores.

Maurice Simpkins, a bundle engineer, says these transgression enterprises span the globe.

"Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Most recently, we person been seeing immoderate Russian information I mean, it's really coming successful in Russian characters successful immoderate instances," says Simpkins.

The State Center Community College District has been capable to trim losses successful authorities funding. One maneuver it uses, prolonging fiscal assistance disbursement.

Johnson says done collaboration, the territory has made strides and stopped thieves.

"I decidedly judge that our efforts are moving that is simply a nonstop effect of each of our work," says Johnson.

Now, the Department of Education Inspector General's bureau tells ABC News, they person much than 200 progressive investigations successful states from seashore to coast, truthful this isn't unsocial to Fresno City oregon adjacent California.

Many assemblage colleges are present turning to individuality verification bundle to assistance trim the rampant fraud.

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