U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) recently announced legislation to fight against financial fraud in higher education by stopping so-called "ghost students" from receiving federal financial aid.
The bill aims to stop fraudsters from using stolen or fake identities to submit Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications and take federal student aid money.
Ghost students can commit fraud, populate class rosters and never attend classes. Oftentimes, the scammers secure thousands of dollars in aid before institutions realize the students were never real.
"Our young students work night and day to earn their spot on campus," Tuberville said. "Zero federal student aid should go towards ghost students who are stealing money from Americans. As Co-Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions task force to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in education, I am proud to introduce this bill and will not stop until we eliminate all fraud."
Tuberville joined other senators in dropping the legislation days after the U.S. Department of Education launched a new fraud-detection capability for the FAFSA form, boasting it as the "largest and most comprehensive nationwide fraud-prevention effort in the agency's history." Fraud detection will now be built directly into the FAFSA, with every applicant evaluated in real time using risk-based identity screening. Applicants who present a certain level of fraud risk will now be required to present government-issued identification before accessing federal student aid, such as Pell Grants and federal student loans.
The No Aid for Ghost Students Act would require institutions to bolster anti-fraud measures, including verifying an applicant's identity before disbursing federal student aid if the application is suspected of fraud.
It would also require the Department of Education to use an identity fraud detection system to review each FAFSA application and notify institutions of any irregularities.
Tuberville joined Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) in backing the bill in Washington, D.C.
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