Five individuals have been charged in three separate cases in the United States involving the alleged theft of American identities to fraudulently obtain federal student financial aid. The cases, part of an investigation dubbed 'Operation Ghostbusters', have an estimated combined intended financial loss of approximately $2.9 million. Two of the defendants are Kenyan nationals, while three others were arrested in New Jersey. The investigation is ongoing, with prosecutors working to recover funds and pursue suspects operating outside the United States.
The alleged scheme involved stealing personal information belonging to Americans, particularly those who had never attended college, and using the identities to create fictitious students. The suspects allegedly used the stolen identities to enrol the fictitious students in colleges across the United States before submitting applications for federal student financial assistance through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Once the applications were approved, the US Department of Education disbursed loans and grants to the respective institutions.
In one case, a Kenyan national allegedly received more than 700 fraudulent student aid refund deposits totalling approximately $1.44 million through multiple bank accounts. The suspect is accused of transferring at least $1.3 million to accounts in the United States and Kenya through thousands of wire transfers and money service transactions. The Justice Department also announced the seizure of more than $750,000 in cryptocurrency from an account belonging to a Kenyan national connected to the scheme.
Two additional suspects based in Kenya, who allegedly worked with the New Jersey defendants, are expected to face charges as investigations continue. In a separate case in New Jersey, three defendants were arrested over allegations that they received more than $1 million in fraudulent student aid funds before transferring the money, after taking their share, to associates in Kenya linked to a purported safari company. The scheme allegedly ran from March 2021 to January 2026.
Kenyan citizen Francis Mogambi was indicted on 10 counts relating to the alleged theft of government money and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors allege that between November 2025 and May 2026, Mogambi used stolen American identities to fraudulently obtain student financial aid, keeping 30 per cent of the proceeds and sending the remainder to associates in Kenya. The wider investigation has identified 830,840 potentially fraudulent federal student aid identification accounts associated with nearly $130 million in funding.
The authorities have recommended that the Department of Education disable the accounts. The FBI has separately identified more than $32 million in losses from similar ghost student schemes, with additional losses suspected. Operation Ghostbusters is being conducted by the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division in collaboration with the FBI, the Department of Education and other US law enforcement agencies, alongside Kenyan authorities.
The Justice Department said the investigation is ongoing and that it is working with Kenyan law enforcement agencies to recover funds and pursue suspects operating outside the United States. The White House specifically accused Kenyan nationals of using stolen American identities to obtain federal student aid for their personal benefit and that of co-conspirators operating overseas.
Key points
- Two Kenyan nationals are among five defendants charged in separate cases involving alleged theft of American identities to obtain federal student financial aid.
- The investigation, dubbed 'Operation Ghostbusters', has an estimated combined intended financial loss of approximately $2.9 million.
- The Justice Department is working with Kenyan law enforcement agencies to recover funds and pursue suspects operating outside the United States.
