DOJ Targets Ghost-student Aid Fraud, Seizes $750K Sent to Safari Firm
WHO:
BBC News - Kenyans were among those charged in connection with the alleged scheme.
NY Post - The Justice Department announced charges against five people accused of orchestrating a federal student-aid fraud scheme.
Fox News - “Operation Ghostbusters” targets people involved in a student-aid fraud scheme using fake students and identity theft.
ABC News - Prosecutors charged five individuals for allegedly participating in schemes to steal federal student aid.
WHAT:
BBC News - The alleged scheme involved $130 million in U.S. student aid.
NY Post - The Justice Department seized about $750,000 in funds described as ill-gotten.
NY Post - The charged people were accused of enrolling “ghost students” who existed only on paper to obtain federal financial aid.
NY Post - The seized funds had been sent to a Kenyan safari outfit.
Fox News - The initiative targeting the scheme is called “Operation Ghostbusters.”
Fox News - The scheme could involve taxpayer losses of hundreds of millions of dollars.
ABC News - The charges concern alleged schemes to steal federal student aid using fake identities to pose as students.
WHERE:
NY Post - The seized financial-aid funds were sent to a Kenyan safari outfit.
WHY:
NY Post - The alleged scheme sought to obtain federal financial aid by enrolling fictitious students.
ABC News - Prosecutors allege that fake identities were used to pose as students in order to steal federal student aid.
HOW:
NY Post - The accused allegedly enrolled “ghost students” who existed only on paper.
ABC News - The alleged schemes used fake identities to make people appear to be students and obtain federal aid.
Fox News - The scheme involved fake students and identity theft.
(UPDATED October 30, 2026 10:41 UTC)
Federal prosecutors charged five people over an alleged $130 million student-aid fraud scheme. They allegedly used fake identities and fictitious students to claim federal financial aid. Authorities seized about $750,000, which had been sent to a Kenyan safari outfit.
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(UPDATED October 30, 2026 09:00 UTC)
The Justice Department charged five people accused of stealing federal student aid through fake identities. Prosecutors say fictitious students secured $130 million in aid, with Kenyans among the accused. Authorities seized about $750,000 allegedly sent to a Kenyan safari outfit.
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(UPDATED October 30, 2026 00:02 UTC)
The Justice Department has charged five people in an alleged federal student-aid fraud scheme, dubbed “Operation Ghostbusters,” that prosecutors say used fake identities and fictitious students to obtain aid. Investigators seized about $750,000 in allegedly stolen funds, which had been sent to a Kenyan safari outfit. Authorities say the scheme could have caused taxpayer losses of hundreds of millions of dollars.