Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) called out Senate Democrats for blocking her effort to prevent federal student aid fraud amid the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent crackdown.
"I led the charge in the Senate to stop this madness with the No Aid for Ghost Students Act," Sen. Moody wrote on X. "Surprise surprise my bill was BLOCKED by Bernie Sanders and Dems."
"I’ll keep fighting to get this done," she affirmed.
Ghost Students are not real-they are criminals posing a students and stealing identities to raid funds meant to help American kids pursue education. That hard earned tax payer money often ends up overseas.
I led the charge in the Senate to stop this madness with the No Aid for Ghost Students Act.
Surprise surprise my bill was BLOCKED by Bernie Sanders and Dems. I’ll keep fighting to get this done.
Great work by @AAGMcDonald and the Trump Administration for rolling out a whole-of-government war on student aid fraud.
— Senator Ashley Moody (@SenAshleyMoody) October 30, 2026
Operation Ghostbusters
The White House's Anti-Fraud Task Force and the DOJ recently announced "Operation Ghostbusters," a nationwide crackdown on federal student aid fraud that secured over $750,000 in cryptocurrency tied to the scheme.
According to the DOJ, the scheme is tied to a network linked to Kenyan nationals.
The scheme targeted low-income Americans, American taxpayers, and the federal government through fake Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) accounts.
Fraudsters reportedly stole U.S. citizens' identities and used them to enroll "ghost students" in academic institutions such as universities, colleges, and trade schools.
The fraudsters would then use the FAFSA applications to receive federal grant and loan disbursements.
“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," Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said.
Sen. Moody's Blocked Bill
In Apr. 2026, Sen. Moody introduced legislation to stop FAFSA fraud.
The bill would’ve required the Department of Education (ED) to create a FAFSA identity fraud detection system.
The House passed a companion bill in June 2026 by a vote of 249- 172, with 36 Democrats crossing party lines.
However, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Education Committee, tabled the Senate Counterpart in Sept. 2026 after calling for a vote on an amendment involving Social Security benefits.
