How Kenyans got caught in $130m US ghost student scam

What the report says

BBC Africa reports that a Kenyan national, Francis Mogambi, has been charged in the United States in connection with a wider alleged student-aid fraud scheme uncovered by federal investigators. According to the article, Mogambi arrived in the US in 2024 through the Diversity Visa lottery and was later indicted in Nebraska on charges including theft of government money and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors allege he worked with associates in Kenya between late 2025 and mid-2026 to use stolen identities to create fake students at American colleges and divert financial aid payments.

The report says Mogambi allegedly kept a share of the money and sent the rest to people in Kenya. It also notes that he was arrested after the indictment and is being held awaiting trial. If convicted on the counts cited by prosecutors, he could face a mandatory prison sentence of at least 10 years.

The case is part of a broader US Justice Department effort called Operation Ghostbusters, aimed at alleged fraud involving fake college enrolments and federal aid claims. BBC Africa says investigators have identified hundreds of thousands of potentially fraudulent aid IDs tied to about $130m in suspected aid, though officials described that figure as potential fraud rather than confirmed losses. The reporting adds that US and Kenyan authorities have also cooperated in related probes, including money recovery efforts and other cases involving alleged transfers between the two countries.