Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-40) applauded the Department of Education (Department)’s announcement to launch a nationwide effort to eliminate identity theft and fraud in the federal student aid programs for the fall 2025 semester.
The Department’s announcement comes after Rep. Kim led a letter calling for a federal investigation into fraudulent community college applications stealing financial aid and abusing federal and state taxpayer dollars.
Recent reports show that 34 percent of community college applications from the last calendar year were fraudulent.
“Last year, more than one in every three California community college applications was fake, leading to financial aid fraud stealing $10 million in federal taxpayer dollars and $3 million from our state. This is not only a flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars but also deprives real students in need of receiving student aid they need to receive an education,” said Congresswoman Kim. “I appreciate the Department of Education hearing our call for answers and transparency on behalf of the American people.”
