DOJ launches nationwide probe into ghost-student fraud

Federal authorities have launched Operation Ghostbusters, a nationwide investigation into an alleged student-aid fraud scheme that used stolen identities to enroll fake students at colleges and divert federal grants and loans. Investigators say the operation may have caused several hundred million dollars in taxpayer losses; more than 830,000 accounts have been flagged as potentially fraudulent, though officials have tied at least $32 million in losses to specific suspects. The FBI has opened more than 40 investigations across 26 field offices, and five people have been charged. Authorities say the scheme used artificial intelligence and paid participants to make fake students appear active in online classes, while funds were routed through domestic intermediaries and sent overseas, including to Kenya. Officials have seized more than $750,000 in cryptocurrency and say the investigation is continuing.