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Education Department requires ID for FAFSA applicants after fraud case

Published on October 30, 2026

The Education Department has started to require applicants to show identification to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent said. The change follows a Justice Department case announced by assistant attorney general Colin McDonald as part of Operation Ghostbusters. According to the New York Post, the department reports nearly $600 million in savings in just six months from the requirement. 1

Five people were charged in the case, which involved enrolling “ghost students” who existed only on paper using stolen identification. Three defendants were charged in New Jersey, and two Kenyan citizens were indicted in Nebraska and Virginia. Authorities seized about $750,000. Investigators believe the fraud has been ongoing since at least 2021, potentially reaching several hundred million dollars lost.

Applicants may now be asked to show identification when filling out the FAFSA form, according to Kent. The Education Department is also using artificial intelligence to find suspicious patterns, the Post reported.

Sources & notes

Data and figures on this page come from the sources and notes below:

Footnotes

  1. DOJ busts ‘ghost students’, seizes $750K in stolen financial aid sent to Kenyan safari outfit , nypost.com. ↩

  1. Federal judge rules Medicaid medical frailty definition unlawful, October 30, 2026.
  2. 2027-28 FAFSA opened Sept. 23, 2026, the earliest launch in program history, October 28, 2026.
  3. Michigan opens third round of Universal FAFSA Challenge, October 27, 2026.