'This stops now': Feds bust massive 'ghost students' scam in Kenyan community

"Operation Ghostbusters" is nabbing scammers stealing tens of millions of taxpayer cash — and sending it back to Kenya.Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald explained the details of "Operation Ghostbusters" in a media briefing Thursday to reporters.'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.'The operation targeted scammers in the Kenyan community who allegedly stole Americans' identities in order to create "ghost" students and then fraudulently file for financial aid from the federal government.To express the scale of the fraud involved, McDonald said that one-third of the applications to community colleges were tagged as possible fraud in the state of California."These are not isolated errors. This is organized fraud at scale," said McDonald.Heith Janke, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Division, said they have identified $32 million in losses but the total could top many tens of millions of dollars."This stops now," said Janke. "The FBI, working hand-in-hand with our partners at the Department of Education and Department of Justice, will follow all evidence, track every dollar, and pursue each criminal who seeks to exploit our nation’s systems."There are over 40 open cases related to the investigation that includes 26 FBI field offices and more than 20 U.S. attorney’s offices.The operation has led to indictments against five people in New Jersey, Nebraska, and other states. The feds also seized more than $750,000 worth of cryptocurrency with ties to networks in Kenya.The scammers are using artificial intelligence in order to apply for the financial aid as well as complete school coursework to keep the aid flowing. Some scammers are even creating the "appearance" of fake students in online classrooms so that schools believe a real person is present.RELATED: Feeding Our Future scammer CRIES in court at sentencing for bribing juror with $120K The investigation linked more than 830,000 student financial aid accounts that were potentially a part of the fraud scam. McDonald said the charges were "just the beginning" and others are expected."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," he added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!