How Kenyans got caught in $130m US ghost student scam

In May 2024, Francis Mogambi arrived in the United States after winning the Diversity Visa lottery, a programme that gives people from around the world a chance to become permanent residents.

Just over two years later, the Kenyan national found himself at the centre of a US investigation into an alleged nationwide scheme to defraud the federal student aid system.

On 19 October 2026, a grand jury in Nebraska indicted Mogambi on five counts of theft of government money and five counts of aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors allege that, between November 2025 and May 2026, he worked with associates in Kenya to steal the identities of US citizens and use them to fraudulently enroll fictitious students in American colleges.

Once the fake students were enrolled, Mogambi allegedly diverted their financial aid payments to himself, keeping 30% and sending the remainder to his associates in Kenya.

The intended loss in his case was $20,000 (£15,000), according to prosecutors.

Court documents say Mogambi received $2,000 a week and attempted to recruit another person into the scheme. He allegedly told the individual he needed a business that would allow him to cash larger cheques without paying taxes.

Mogambi was arrested shortly after the indictment was returned and is being held in custody pending trial.

His case forms part of a wider US investigation, dubbed Operation Ghostbusters, into the alleged use of stolen identities to enrol fictitious students at colleges and claim federal financial aid.

US authorities say the investigation has so far resulted in five indictments, while further 40 investigations remain open. Hundreds of people have been affected after fraudsters allegedly stole their personally identifiable information (PII) and used it to access federal student aid.

The stolen personal information was sometimes sold online for between $4 and $8, with fraudsters targeting low-income Americans who had never had the opportunity to attend college.

At a news conference on 29 October announcing the first charges in the investigation, Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, who heads the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, vowed to pursue those involved.

"If you steal taxpayers' dollars, if you exploit a programme meant to help students, we are resolved to find you and prosecute you," he said.

The Justice Department says those behind the fraud use what is described as "super intelligence" to place fake students in classrooms and complete coursework, creating the impression that they are attending college and allowing financial aid payments to continue.

"The goal is to keep the ghost student in school as long as possible. Semester after semester after semester stealing money from the taxpayers," McDonald said.

But the consequences extend beyond the financial losses suffered by the US government.

People whose identities are stolen can find themselves facing unexpected student loan debts, even if they have never enrolled in college.

"His identity was stolen, his credit is now at risk, and his name is on the bill," McDonald said, describing the impact on one victim.

He also said that nearly a third of community college applicants in California in 2024 had been identified as fraudulent.

The scale of the suspected fraud is significant.

Investigators identified 830,840 potentially fraudulent Federal Student Aid identification numbers associated with nearly $130m (£97m) in September and October 2026. They recommended that the Department of Education disable them.

The figure represents financial aid associated with potentially fraudulent accounts, not confirmed losses.

"In a flash, the money vanishes, often overseas in places like Kenya," McDonald said.

The investigation has also exposed alleged financial links between the US and Kenya.

In September, US officials travelled to Kenya to work with local law enforcement on extraditions, prosecutions and the recovery of money allegedly stolen from American taxpayers.

With the help of Kenyan investigators, US authorities seized more than $750,000 from a cryptocurrency account belonging to a Kenyan national connected to the wider scheme. The Justice Department described it as the first international seizure of its kind in Kenya.

The seizure was not connected to Mogambi's individual case.

In a separate case in Virginia, prosecutors allege that a Kenyan national received more than 700 fraudulent student-aid refunds totaling approximately $1.44m (£1.07m). At least $1.3m was subsequently transferred through thousands of transactions to accounts in the US and Kenya.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, three people have been charged with allegedly acting as money mules in a scheme to obtain more than $1m (£746,445) in federal student aid.

Prosecutors say they received the funds through US bank accounts, kept a portion for themselves and transferred the remainder to alleged co-conspirators in Kenya linked to a purported safari company.

If convicted, Mogambi faces a mandatory prison term of at least 10 years, according to the Justice Department.

Authorities say those convicted will also face appropriate orders for forfeiture of assets and restitution to victims, in addition to any prison sentences.