Trump Education Dept. Announces They’ve Prevented More Than a Billion in Student Aid Fraud
“American citizens have to present an ID to purchase a ticket to travel or to rent a car – it’s only right that they should present an ID to access tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund their education”
This is amazing. You know what they say. A billion here, a billion there, and before you know it, you’re talking about real money.
From their press release:
U.S. Department of Education Prevents More Than $1 Billion in Federal Student Aid Fraud This Year, Additional Crackdowns Expected in 2026
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) today announced that it has prevented $1 billion in Federal student aid fraud since January 2025. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration implemented enhanced fraud controls governing how institutions of higher education distribute financial assistance, including mandatory identity verification for certain first-time student applicants. This effort has halted more than $1 billion in attempted financial aid theft by fraudsters, including coordinated international fraud rings and AI bots pretending to be students.
The Biden Administration’s decision to require identity verification from less than one percent of students created a prime opportunity for fraudsters to exploit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) process and steal taxpayer funds. Colleges and universities across the country reported being under siege by highly sophisticated fraud rings and requested the Trump Administration for help.
“American citizens have to present an ID to purchase a ticket to travel or to rent a car – it’s only right that they should present an ID to access tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund their education,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “From day one, the Trump Administration has been committed to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government. As a result, $1 billion in taxpayer funds will now support students pursuing the American dream, rather than falling into the hands of criminals. Merry Christmas, taxpayers!”
Background
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration uncovered that nearly $90 million in federal student aid was fraudulently disbursed, including more than $30 million disbursed to deceased individuals and more than $40 million disbursed to companies using bots disguised as fake students. The Department immediately began restoring fraud prevention measures that the Biden Administration had deprioritized to carry out its illegal student loan bailout and other misguided policies.
Because Federal data indicated that the rate of fraud through stolen identities had reached levels that could jeopardize the integrity of federal student aid programs, the Department launched a nationwide identity verification effort to eliminate fraud and abuse in June. Within the first week, the Department identified almost 150,000 suspect identities in current FAFSA forms and immediately alerted postsecondary institutions of fraudulent activity.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
I know directly of a small university in Virginia that was flat out lying about the number of transfer students coming in just to grab some money from the state.
It wouldn’t be a part of this crackdown (this was state not federal), but it’s not like this is just a student thing. Luckily, the people involved were fired, but I bet they were working under the direction of a now-retired university president’s office.