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Trump admin tightens vise on student aid fraud in ‘ghost student’ crackdown
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is stepping up its crackdown on fraud and “ghost students,” launching a real-time fraud detection tool for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Fox News Digital learned.
“Instead of student aid and education grants going to students who deserve it, corrupt Democrats and the inept bureaucrat class of the Biden Administration allowed it to flow straight into the pockets of fraudsters for years,” a spokesperson for Vice President JD Vance, who President Donald Trump recently tapped as the administration’s fraud czar, told Fox News Digital.
The Department of Education launched a screening tool Monday morning directly into the FAFSA process that flags potentially high-risk applicants, requiring them to provide government-issued identification before accessing federal student aid, including Pell Grants and loans.
The Education Department estimates its efforts to identify and deny aid to fraudulent students will save taxpayers over $1 billion during this year’s FAFSA cycle, with the tool already screening 50,000 applications as of Monday afternoon.
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The new fraud detection efforts follow a surge in “ghost student” scams tied to loosened verification requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Department of Education.
Ghost students are a growing trend involving fabricated or stolen identities, often powered by AI bots or criminal networks using real Americans’ personal information, used to enroll in programs, trigger financial aid disbursements, and then disappear.
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“Americans deserve education. Fraudsters deserve nothing,” a senior White House official told Fox News Digital.
Key verification safeguards were removed during the COVID-19 pandemic under the Biden administration, the Education Department reported, when less than 1% of students were required to verify their identity following their FAFSA submission.
“This new fraud detection tool will stop fraud at the start of the process, before money goes out the door, strengthening the integrity of our programs and expanding opportunity for students who depend on these resources to finance their postsecondary education,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told Fox News Digital.
The announcement comes as Trump established the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vance, to combat fraud across federal programs.
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“Under the Vice President’s task force, student aid will go to students and students only,” the vice president’s spokesperson added.
The increased verification process follows the Trump administration uncovering more than $1 billion in student aid fraud last year, including stopping suspected bots and ghost students from obtaining taxpayer-funded loans.
The administration also previously uncovered $90 million that was disbursed to suspected scammers in 2024, including $30 million in loans to dead people and more than $40 million disbursed to companies using bots disguised as fake students.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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Anti-ICE demonstrators detained after protesting arrest of illegal immigrant facing assault, drug charges
Nearly 10 people were detained in New York over the weekend as anti-ICE demonstrators were protesting against the arrest of an illegal immigrant accused of assault and drug possession, according to officials.
The protests erupted in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood after ICE arrested Chidozie Wilson Okeke, an illegal immigrant from Nigeria with previous arrests for assault and drug possession, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Okeke entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2023 and overstayed his visa that required him to leave the country by Feb. 26, 2024, DHS said.
During an immigration enforcement operation on Saturday, Okeke refused to comply with ICE agents’ commands to exit his car and attempted to hit them with the vehicle, according to the agency. He is then accused of being “physically combative” and attempting to punch and elbow ICE agents.
“Our officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest,” DHS said in a statement.
After his arrest, Okeke was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for a medical evaluation. Okeke “remained non-compliant during the medical evaluation, throwing himself to the floor and screaming,” DHS said, adding that he was eventually cleared by medical staff.
Video shows ICE agents dragging Okeke out of the hospital following his medical evaluation.
During the medical evaluation, a crowd of anti-ICE protesters gathered outside the hospital. DHS says the group damaged several ICE vehicles and assaulted agents, causing minor injuries.
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The NYPD said officers responded to reports of disorderly protesters outside the hospital between Stanhope and Stockholm streets on Saturday at around 10:25 p.m. Officers reported observing several people acting disorderly, obstructing vehicle traffic and blocking emergency entrances and exits to the hospital.
Officers issued repeated verbal warnings for the protesters to disperse and return to the sidewalks, according to the department.
Nine people were then taken into custody, including eight who were arrested and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, the NYPD said. One person was issued a summons and released.
The NYPD said it does not participate in civil immigration enforcement and had no prior awareness of the ICE operation.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told a Gothamist reporter after the incident on Saturday that ICE raids are “cruel and inhumane” and “they do nothing to serve in the interest of public safety, and I’ve said that even directly to the president.”
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Cameron Young Declares It ‘Honor’ To Play In Front Of President Trump Following Dominant Win At Cadillac Championship
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Yankees option Anthony Volpe to Triple-A as Jose Caballero continues to thrive at shortstop
As the New York Yankees continued to roll to start the season, owning the best record in the American League after an 11-3 win on Sunday over the Baltimore Orioles, they had a big decision to make by the end of the day.
What should be done with shortstop Anthony Volpe, a polarizing figure among the fan base whose rehab assignment ended?
While Volpe was rehabbing from left shoulder surgery, Jose Caballero, who was acquired by the Yankees last season, has been doing more than just playing a serviceable shortstop. He’s been coming up in clutch positions as well as being a smooth glove at one of the most important positions on the diamond.
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As a result, the Yankees made the decision to have Volpe not re-join the team, but rather option the 25-year-old to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
“Caballero is playing the heck out of the position and playing really well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said prior to the Yankees’ win on Sunday, per ESPN. “That complicates it.”
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Caballero has been the Yankees’ primary shortstop across 34 games this season, and has done well with the regular at-bats, which usually come toward the bottom of the lineup. He is slashing .259/.306/.405 with a .711 OPS, four homers and 12 RBIs thus far.
Meanwhile, Volpe went 11-for-44 (.250) during his 13 rehab games in the minor leagues, which mostly came with the Double-A Somerset Patriots.
Volpe ended up getting shoulder surgery on Oct. 14, which came after the Yankees were eliminated from the MLB postseason by the Toronto Blue Jays, the team that won the American League pennant.
But the injury was one that bothered Volpe throughout the season. He received a cortisone shot in the shoulder during the All-Star break, and then once more on Sept. 10 after an aggravation of the injury.
Volpe went on to hit .212/.272/.391 with a .663 OPS across 153 games for New York, belting 19 homers and notching a career-high 72 RBIs. However, fans had problems with Volpe’s lack of consistency at shortstop, tallying 19 errors, which was third-most among big league players at the position.
Volpe was the Yankees’ first-round pick of the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft, and after finding fast success in the minor leagues, he debuted in 2023 as the team’s starting shortstop out of spring training.
After hitting 21 home runs, despite hitting just .209 with a .283 on-base percentage, the Yankees liked what they saw from their 22-year-old shortstop who was also named a Gold Glover that season.
This isn’t to say Volpe is going to spend the 2026 season outright in the minors, but the Yankees are not going to be switching things up as they remain hot.
In the meantime, Volpe will use his Triple-A at-bats and reps at shortstop to get right for when the Yankees eventually get him back in the bigs.
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