Bots enroll, apply for a Pell grant, collect it and disappear. Schemes have become so prevalent that colleges must provide monthly fraud reports.
Micaela RicaforteThe Epoch TimesCalifornia’s community colleges have handed out more than $5 million in financial aid to fraudulent students since 2021.The bogus students are often bots who enroll, apply for a federal Pell grant—which can provide up to $7,600—collect it and then disappear.Instances of financial aid fraud became widespread after 2021, when scammers began submitting fraudulent applications for federal aid and COVID-19 relief grants, according to state news outlet CalMatters.Since then, such schemes became so prevalent that the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office began requiring in 2021 the
