$90M in aid fraud prompts ‘ghost student’ bill from Glenn “GT” Thompson

We are sharing the following article to highlight recent actions and signals from federal oversight bodies that point to growing expectations for how higher education institutions prevent fraud and verify identity. The outcomes of these developments could significantly impact compliance, funding access, and institutional risk moving forward. Now is the time to research how your institution will meet upcoming requirements and strengthen its safeguards. BSI is here to help institutions prepare with BioProof‑ID-student ID Authentication and document verification to prevent ghost students and Bots with fake ID’s from applying for FSA.

"(WTAJ) — U.S. Representative Glenn Thompson (PA-15) introduced a bill on Thursday that aims to mitigate student aid fraud.

Scammers have been found to use stolen or fake identities to claim financial aid before disappearing. These actors have been dubbed `ghost students’.

Rep. Thompson has introduced the Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act to put protocol into place for flagging and reviewing fraud. The legislation would require the Education Department to identify institutions that disburse federal aid to applicants flagged for potential fraud, placing those institutions in a category that can be reviewed and audited.

In 2025, the Department of Education discovered that almost $90 million in student aid was given to fraudulent actors. Millions were distributed to deceased individuals and over $40 million was collected by bots.

According to Rep. Thompson, these scams are costing taxpayers and preventing actual students from getting support.

“Through this bill, we can ensure ghost students are unable to counterfeit identities and put a stop to federal student aid fraud,” Rep. Thompson said. “It’s important we do this to prevent crowding out real, deserving students from college classrooms.”

Institutions that verify student identity, through in-person or live video call verification, before dispersing student aid would be exempt under the new legislation.

“Most colleges are doing the right thing, but when schools disburse federal student aid to people flagged for potential identity fraud without verifying who they are, it opens the door for abuse,” Rep. Walberg (MI-05), Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, said. “Rep. GT Thompson’s bill makes it clear: if you’re handling taxpayer-funded aid, you have a responsibility to make sure it’s going to legitimate students. The legislation is part of the committee’s broader effort to crack down on fraud across federal programs, including ghost student scams that leave taxpayers on the hook for millions and crowd real students out of classrooms.”"

Author: Derek Cestone

Date: Mar 12, 2026

Source WTAG News

Read the Original Posting