00:00Today, we are announcing the results, the first results, of Operation Ghostbusters,
00:06a nationwide effort to stop a major fraud scheme targeting federal student aid,
00:12low-income Americans, and the American taxpayer.
00:15It is schemes like this one that President Trump, Vice President Vance,
00:21and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud are resolved to defeat.
00:26Throughout the year, Americans submit a FAFSA application with the Department of Education,
00:33praying they might receive the funds or loans necessary to attend college.
00:39For many, that FAFSA application is their only chance.
00:44The American people know this, and so they generously fund federal student aid programs
00:50to help students and families who otherwise couldn't pay for college.
00:54But every year, alongside those eager American students submitting their student loan applications,
01:01praying for a better future, are fraudsters submitting fraudulent student loan applications
01:07by the thousands, preying on the American taxpayer and American victims.
01:14Operation Ghostbusters is working to stop them.
01:18Let me briefly describe how this scheme works.
01:21First, criminals steal the identities of real Americans.
01:26They specifically target Americans who haven't attended college.
01:31They use those stolen identities to create ghost students to apply to colleges across the country.
01:39Next, they apply for federal student aid using those same stolen identities.
01:44And if successful at duping the Department of Education,
01:49Ed then sends the aid money to the college where the ghost student is enrolled.
01:54After tuition and fees are deducted,
01:57the leftover federal funds are deposited directly into bank accounts controlled by fraudsters.
02:03And in a flash, the money vanishes,
02:07often overseas to places like Kenya.
02:10So, that's why I see as such ator excavation everywhere.
02:11I've understood that younger Americans and the翻 minimizing people bear people
