Over 60,000 Fake Applications Submitted in Student Aid Scheme, California Says — from nytimes.com from Vimal Patel
It was unclear how much money, if any, was disbursed to the suspicious students. The federal Education Department said it was investigating the suspected fraud.
Excerpt:
According to Mr. Perry, fraud of this nature is easier to pull off at community colleges than at four-year institutions, because the two-year institutions don’t have admissions committees vetting applicants. And while colleges have had some fully virtual components for many years, the pandemic — which forced many colleges to operate entirely online — has provided the conditions for such schemes to flourish. “Somebody trying to perpetuate this would think this was a more likely time to try to get away with this,” Mr. Perry said.
He added that the next step for federal investigators should be to determine how widespread this conduct is and whether colleges elsewhere should be on the lookout.