WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Education reported nearly $2 billion in attempted federal student aid fraud had been prevented under the Trump administration as officials convened more than 800 participants July 7 for a summit focused on fraud and abuse in higher education programs.
The Higher Education Fraud Summit brought together federal officials, colleges and third-party service providers to examine identity theft, fraudulent enrollment and other schemes targeting student aid.
Presentations from Federal Student Aid, the department and its Office of Inspector General focused on detection methods, interagency enforcement and practices institutions can use to identify suspicious activity.
Students whose identities had been used by fraudulent actors also described their experiences during the event.
“Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar taken away from a student trying to build a better future,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent stated.
The department characterized the nearly $2 billion as attempted fraud blocked from reaching criminal actors. It did not provide a breakdown of the cases, time periods or enforcement actions included in that total.
Separately, the Office of Inspector General reported that its investigations over the past 12 months produced more than $35 million in restitution, settlements, fines, savings, recoveries and forfeitures.
Recent cases included a guilty plea by the leader of a Michigan-based operation that used more than 1,200 identities and targeted over $16 million in aid through more than 100 schools across 24 states.
Another defendant pleaded guilty in a $5 million student loan forgiveness scheme operated through a website promoting itself as a source of default assistance.
A North Carolina fraud-ring leader also received a prison sentence after more than 80 participants fraudulently enrolled at multiple schools and obtained more than $5 million in federal student aid over eight years.
The summit included Under Secretary Kent, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division and Scott Brady, executive director of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Acting Inspector General Mark E. Priebe hosted the event.
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