CA Community Colleges Crack Down on Student Aid Fraud

"Recent data shows the colleges' efforts finally may be working. Last spring, CalMatters reported that colleges were seeing unprecedented reports of fraud, with scammers stealing millions more dollars of student aid than in any previous period, according to reports submitted by colleges to California's Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. Now fewer scammers are bypassing colleges' vetting systems, according to monthly reports, and school administrators say they're better, though still not perfect, at detecting and preventing fraud."

"After CalMatters reported on the rise in fraud last year, Republican U.S. Congress members called for a federal investigation, a Democratic state legislator launched a state audit and later, California's Community Colleges Chancellor's Office approved a new ID verification policy for students. Colleges now are more vigilant about policing fraud, said Jory Hadsell, an executive in technology initiatives for the chancellor's office, who pointed to better filtering practices and new software to detect fraud."

"Between January and March 2025, scammers stole nearly $5.6 million in federal student aid and over $900,000 in state aid. By comparison, this spring colleges have reported losing just under $1.5 million in federal student aid and about $330,000 in state aid to fraudsters. Last spring was "really the peak," Hadsell said. He said he anticipates the end-of-year total in 2026 to be "significantly lower" than last year."

"Even in the worst months, such as last spring, the money distributed to scammers is less than 1% of the total financial aid distributed to community college students in California. Students use the money to help pay for tuition, books and the cost of daily living expenses, such as rent, transportation and food. But any fraud, however small, is unacceptable, said C"

California community colleges have worked to stop scammers from stealing federal and state student aid. Reports submitted to the Chancellor’s Office show that fraud losses were at an unprecedented high last spring, with millions more dollars stolen than in prior periods. Monthly reporting since then shows fewer scammers bypassing college vetting systems. Administrators attribute improvements to better filtering practices, new fraud-detection software, and a new student ID verification policy approved by the Chancellor’s Office. Between January and March 2025, scammers stole nearly $5.6 million in federal aid and over $900,000 in state aid. By spring, reported losses fell to just under $1.5 million in federal aid and about $330,000 in state aid.

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