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 (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.
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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.
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"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 students were required to verify their identity following their FAFSA submission.
"This new fraud detection tool will stop fraud at the start of the process, before money goes out the door, strengthening the integrity of our programs and expanding opportunity for students who depend on these resources to finance their postsecondary education," Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told Fox News Digital.
The announcement comes as Trump established the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vance, to combat fraud across federal programs.
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"Under the Vice President's task force, student aid will go to students and students only," the vice president's spokesperson added.
The increased verification process follows the Trump administration uncovering more than $1 billion in student aid fraud last year, including stopping suspected bots and ghost students from obtaining taxpayer-funded loans.
The administration also previously uncovered $90 million that was disbursed to suspected scammers in 2024, including $30 million in loans to dead people and more than $40 million disbursed to companies using bots disguised as fake students.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.