The Biden administration left behind a trail of destruction everywhere they touched.
Now the Trump team is cleaning up their mess.
And Linda McMahon just uncovered one massive scam that will have taxpayers seeing red.
"Ghost students" drain tens of millions from federal aid programs
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is tackling a fraud epidemic that exploded under Joe Biden’s watch.
Scammers have been creating fake "ghost students" to steal tens of millions of dollars in federal college aid money.
The scheme is staggering in its scope and audacity.
California’s community college system revealed shocking numbers about the scope of this fraud.
Officials found that nearly one-third of applications were bogus – that’s 1.2 million fake submissions in a single state.¹
Criminals are exploiting stolen identities, high-tech bots, and artificial intelligence to run these schemes.
They sign up for classes, stay enrolled long enough to get their financial aid payments, then disappear with taxpayer cash.
"The biggest target for fraud rings tends to be community colleges and lower-cost institutions," Jason Williams, an official with the Education Department’s Office of Inspector General, said on a recent agency podcast. "This is because their tuition costs are lower than other schools, which increases the student aid award balance for the fraudulent student."²
The Biden administration’s reckless expansion of remote learning made this nightmare scenario possible.
When students don’t have to show up to class, it’s open season for fraudsters.
Nationwide fraud rings pilfer millions
This isn’t just a California problem.
The Education Department found nearly $90 million in improper payments going to people who shouldn’t have received them.³
That includes thousands of deceased individuals somehow getting financial aid money.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Dead people are getting college aid under the system Biden left behind.
The fraud cases read like something out of a crime novel.
In Mississippi, a mother and daughter team recruited anyone in the area willing to participate. They then used these identities to apply for student aid, register for classes and collect the checks when the money was disbursed. They were later put in prison after obtaining $2.5 million.⁴
And a father-son team was caught in Arizona after targeting $7.4 million across 300 identities and many schools across the nation. Many of the IDs in this case were stolen, according to the department’s IG office.⁵
Many of these fraud rings involve criminal masterminds who recruit family, friends, or anyone willing to sell their Social Security numbers.
Some operations have been traced to foreign countries, meaning international criminals are literally stealing American tax dollars.
Nevada’s College of Southern Nevada got hit hard, facing over $7.4 million in losses from these phantom students, with many of the fraudsters operating from overseas.⁶
McMahon moves swiftly to protect taxpayers
Secretary McMahon isn’t sitting around wringing her hands like the previous administration.
She’s taking decisive action to slam the door on these thieves.
"As we continue to rehabilitate the student loan portfolio, we must also ensure there are accountability measures at every step of the student aid process," McMahon declared. "From start to finish – filling out the FAFSA form to loan repayment – the American taxpayer underwrites federal student aid programs. We are committed to protecting and responsibly investing their hard-earned dollars."⁷
The Education Department is rolling out identity verification requirements this year for anyone getting Federal Student Aid.
California’s community college system is overhauling their entire application process.
They’re even looking at adding a small $10 application fee to deter fake submissions.
It’s amazing what a small barrier can do when the previous administration basically put up a neon sign saying "free money here."
This is exactly the kind of government waste and fraud that President Trump promised to eliminate.
While Democrats were busy pushing their woke agenda in schools, criminals were literally stealing money meant for real students.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer.
Under Biden, fraud flourished and taxpayers got robbed.
Under Trump, accountability returns and the thieves get caught.
Secretary McMahon is proving that competent leadership makes all the difference when it comes to protecting the American people’s hard-earned tax dollars.
Sources:
- Anna Poff, "Trump admin targets ‘ghost students,’ AI scammers stealing tens of millions in federal college aid," Just the News, June 29, 2025
- Ibid.
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