联邦检察官周四公布了对五名个人的指控，他们被指控参与窃取联邦学生资助的欺诈计划，这是联邦政府对所谓的“贫困”这一祸害进行的大规模调查的一部分幽灵学生．＂
当局表示，被指控的骗子通过使用伪造或窃取的身份参加在线课程，在消失前获得学生援助补助金和贷款，从事“幽灵学生”欺诈。
助理司法部长科林·麦克唐纳在周四的新闻发布会上说，司法部已经对内布拉斯加州、弗吉尼亚州和新泽西州的五名个人提出指控，他们被指控与外国公民合谋，在显然不相关的计划中从联邦学生资助计划中吸走总计290万美元。
指控包括盗窃政府财产，严重的身份盗窃，以及合谋进行电信诈骗。
“如果你窃取美国人的身份，如果你窃取纳税人的钱，如果你利用旨在帮助学生建设未来的项目，我们决心找到你并起诉你，”麦克唐纳说。
内布拉斯加州的嫌疑人在不认罪后被拘留候审，而新泽西州的三名嫌疑人还没有认罪。在弗吉尼亚指控嫌疑犯的起诉书仍在密封中。
官员们表示，周四公布的刑事指控是政府范围内名为“捉鬼敢死队行动”（Operation Ghostbusters）的调查的一部分，该调查涵盖了美国联邦调查局全国26个外地办事处的40多个案件。
美国广播公司新闻和美国广播公司拥有的电台以前检查过越来越多的骗局，官员们说，已经花费了联邦政府每年数亿美元，留下了无数的受害者。
官员们表示，仅在加州，2024年所有社区大学申请人中就有近三分之一被认定为欺诈。
Feds charge 5 people as part of alleged sprawling ＇ghost students＇ probe
Federal prosecutors on Thursday unveiled charges against five individuals accused of participating in fraudulent schemes to steal federal student aid， marking the first charges brought as part of a sprawling federal probe into the scourge of so-called ＂ghost students．＂
Authorities say the alleged scammers engaged in ＂ghost student＂ fraud by using fake or stolen identities to enroll in classes online， where they secured student-aid grants and loans before disappearing．
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said at a press conference Thursday that the Justice Department had filed charges against five individuals in Nebraska， Virginia and New Jersey who are accused of conspiring with foreign nationals in apparently unrelated schemes to siphon off a combined $2．9 million from federal student financial aid programs．
The charges include theft of government property， aggravated identity theft， and conspiracy to commit wire fraud．
＂If you steal American identities， if you steal taxpayer dollars if you exploit programs meant to help students build their future， we are resolved to find you and prosecute you，＂ McDonald said．
The suspect in Nebraska was detained pending trial after pleading not guilty， while the three suspects in New Jersey have not entered pleas．The indictment charging the suspect in Virginia is still under seal．
Officials said the criminal charges unveiled Thursday are part of a government-wide investigation called ＂Operation Ghostbusters，＂ which spans more than 40 cases in 26 FBI field offices across the country．
ABC News and ABC-owned stationspreviously examinedthe growing scam， which officials say has cost the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars each year， leaving an untold number of victims in its wake．
In California alone， nearly a third of all community college applicants in 2024 were identified as fraudulent， officials say．
