"Organized fraud at scale."
That's what Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said today as he and the Department of Justice's National Fraud Enforcement Division announced yet another scam they have uncovered involving African foreign nationals — fictional ones at that.
With Operation Ghostbusters (we love this administration's names for their operations), the DOJ looked at federal student loans. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the American taxpayers were again being robbed blind by foreigners, this time with federal student loan applications for students that didn't exist — hence the "ghost" theme — and all the money was being funneled back to Kenya.
Barack Obama must be so proud.
Here's more from AAG McDonald.
.@AAGMcDonald breaks down the results of Operation Ghostbusters—a @DOJ investigation into a large-scale federal student loan fraud scheme: "Today, we are announcing charges against five defendants and the seizure of more than $750,000 in cryptocurrency tied to this scheme and laundered through a network associated with Kenyan nationals."
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 29, 2026
The only misleading part about the tweet above is the word "results."
As McDonald made very clear, this is not the end of Operation Ghostbusters; he's just getting started.
.@AAGMcDonald: "This is NOT the end of Operation Ghost Busters, this is just the beginning." https://t.co/q8vfvFsnOR
— National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) October 29, 2026
Five men (with very UN-American names) charged so far. More to come.
The $750,000 seized might seem like small potatoes, but for a better breakdown, here are some of the numbers involved.
BREAKING: The DOJ’s “Operation Ghostbusters” has flagged 830,840 potentially fraudulent federal student aid IDs, tied to nearly $130 million, in a scheme that allegedly used stolen American identities to enroll fake “ghost students” and send the aid money to Kenya. 5 charged, $32M+ in confirmed losses so far, $750K+ in crypto seized, and DOJ estimates the total fraud since 2021 at well over $200 million.
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) October 29, 2026
Up to $200 million in possible overall fraud. More than $32 million confirmed as stolen from Americans. And that's only what the DOJ has uncovered to date.
As one of the original Ghostbusters, Winston Zeddemore, might say, "That's a big Twinkie!"
The White House, of course, followed McDonald's update with the perfect meme.
OPERATION GHOSTBUSTERS 👻🇺🇸 Kenyan nationals used stolen American identities to commit fraud by funneling federal student aid for their own personal gain and co-conspirators overseas. Fraudsters like these are being crushed under @WHFraudTF and @TheJusticeDept leadership. https://t.co/lgth8Xcp6D
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 29, 2026
"Who ya' gonna' scam? A-mericans!"
Well, not anymore.
— Bill (@Av8r07) October 29, 2026
LOL. Perfect.
And Operation Ghostbusters is just one of the efforts the administration is taking to eliminate student aid scams. According to an official statement from the DOJ this afternoon, since President Trump took office, more than $2 billion in student loan fraud has been saved.
While Liam Neeson was never in any of the Ghostbusters movies, McDonald channeled one of the actor's other famous roles to make a promise to the fraudsters:
"If you steal American identities, if you steal taxpayer dollars, if you exploit programs meant to help students build a future — we will find you. Whether you are in Nebraska, New Jersey, Virginia, or Nairobi, we will pursue you.”
We know he can't finish that quote from Taken, but we have to imagine he was thinking it.
It’s REALLY nice having a DOJ that’s committed to STOPPING FRAUD instead of supporting it.
— LisaBPepper 🇺🇸 (@LisaBPepper) October 29, 2026
Right? It's a pretty welcome change, we have to agree.
As the midterms approach, no Democrat candidate or current officeholder has had a single word to say about any of these exposed scams.
There's a reason for that.
Thank you from a grateful American. 🙏🏼🇺🇸
— PRAY 🙏🏼 🇺🇸 (@karlynn1990) October 29, 2026
Another day, more fraud. Make them pay it back and lock them up 😡
— deplorablepuppy (@deplorablepuppy) October 29, 2026
As McDonald promised, more seizures and charges are imminent.
We're also pretty sure that the indicted suspects so far will go to prison. Now, the DOJ just needs to indict those who enable them, as well as seize any profits from the schools themselves.
But the other side of this. Many colleges and Universities were able to profit as well. These colleges and Universities took their cut of the stolen funds to pay for the tuition and fees the ghost students enrolled in and by law MUST refund that money to The Dept of Education.…
— GemHunterAI (@DonaldMoor91672) October 29, 2026
... This needs to be addressed as some may have acrueed millions if not billions of dollars
Harvard will simply have to get by on its $70 billion endowment. Where are our tiny violins?
"Kenyans were STEALING..."
— AzBeto (@AzBeto1997) October 29, 2026
"The song of my people..." pic.twitter.com/AlZWrJ62vW
It hasn't been a very good 24 hours for Obama, that's for sure.
It also makes us wonder about Joe Biden's illegal student loan forgiveness program.
Boy oh boy, that Biden was ready to “pay off” student loans like he was growing cash in the White House rose garden. Just a coincidence I’m sure 🙄
— Don’s Daughter (@GenXamerica) October 29, 2026
Oh, sure. Nothing to see there.
When it’s not Somalians, who are ripping off the American taxpayers, it’s their near neighbors, the Kenyans, who are doing it. Send them all back where they came from.
— GiveMeLiberty (@ru23052) October 29, 2026
Amen.
Until then, we'll just have to keep calling the ghostbusters.
— My name is Jason. (@Imissthe90ss) October 29, 2026
As Ernie Hudson's Ghostbusters character might also say, "When someone asks you if this administration is serious about eliminating fraud and going after the scammers, you say YES!"
============================================
Related:
Death by DEI: Abigail Spanberger Wants Virginians to Know She Has the Most Diverse Cabinet EVER
What Could Go Wrong? X Laughs in 2008 As Philly Mayor Announces Her Not-So-New Mortgage Model
Enjoy the Tears of Unfathomable Sadness As 'Shadow Government' FBI Agent Faces Consequences
Spencer Pratt's Meme About the DSA Platform Is SCARILY Accurate (and I Mean SCARILY)
We've Seen YOUR Friends: El-Sayed's Jab Attempt at Mike Rogers and Donald Trump Backfires BIGLY
Editor’s Note: We voted for mass deportations, not mass amnesty. Help us continue to fight back against those trying to go against the will of the American people.
Join Twitchy VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.