So-called "ghost students" are reportedly fueling a growing financial aid fraud crisis in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and across the country.

These ghost students allegedly steal identities to enroll online and apply for taxpayer-funded financial aid.

'These fraudsters are very well organized and well financed.'

KSTP reported in October that the Minnesota State system, which consists of 33 colleges and universities, had flagged over 7,700 “fraudulent” or “potentially fraudulent” financial aid applications in the 2024-2025 academic year. In nearly 95% of those cases, the ghost students had applied to two-year community colleges. The fraud was identified before any money was distributed.

KSTP discovered two cases in which funds were distributed to fraudsters who had enrolled in a community college. The cases came to light after a man in Hutchinson, Kansas, reported that someone had used his name and Social Security number to collect $13,000. Another individual stated that his information was used to take out two student loans worth over $6,700.

A Minnesota State spokesperson told KSTP in October that at least three schools had paid between $9,500 and $63,500 back to the federal government after discovering ghost students.

Craig Munson, the chief information security officer for the Minnesota State system, addressed the ongoing fraud issues during a Thursday Minnesota House hearing.

“These fraudsters are very well organized and well financed,” Munson said. “Stealing money that was intended for real students in need of financial aid.”

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Photo by JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images

When questioned about how much the fraud scheme has cost the Minnesota State system, Munson did not provide a dollar amount but noted that he believes “we are making very good progress” in addressing the issue.

Munson explained that the school system is still seeing a similar number of fraud cases, but that ghost students are now targeting more four-year colleges and universities.

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Photo by: Jumping Rocks/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

“It used to be more of the two-year [colleges], we’re starting to see they’re looking at all colleges and universities,” he said. “It could be a couple of reasons — that they’ve learned the system to its extent, and they want to extend their stay in the system and transfer to a four-year possibly. We’re also seeing some positive reports that many of our two-year colleges are seeing a little bit of a reduction in these fraud attempts.”

During Thursday’s hearing, Munson presented a fraud report detailing the growing threat and recommendations to address it, including implementing an automated identity-proofing system that would cost $1 million to $1.5 million per year.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota State system told Blaze News that enrollment fraud is a problem for colleges and universities across the nation.

“The Minnesota State IT Services team has implemented a variety of safeguards to protect against this threat," the spokesperson stated. "Nationally, there has been a significant rise in this activity and we have been working to install additional safeguards and provide guidance to our 33 colleges and universities for the last two years. Our schools, in partnership with faculty, have been actively managing this problem, identifying ghost students early in each semester and removing them from our systems to ensure only real students can get the classes they need and financial aid is distributed to the students who need it to achieve their academic goals."

"In addition, this last fall a more formal Enrollment Fraud Working Group that includes experts in IT, Academic and Student Affairs, and Audit from the Minnesota State system office, as well as faculty, staff, and student representatives from throughout the system was formed. The goal of the group is to identify additional safeguards the colleges and universities of Minnesota State can put in place to keep ghost students out,” the spokesperson added.

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The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) voted 6-3 on Friday to invalidate President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, ruling that they were not authorized by the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The ruling does not, however, preclude the use of different statutory mechanisms for tariffs.

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The Court got the tariff case right. Trump should accept that and move on — and he may end up thanking the justices.

Mere hours after the Supreme Court handed down its decision on Trump's tariffs under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, President Trump responded with a lengthy Truth Social post. Though the court ruled against him, Trump was not nearly as angry with the decision as might be expected.

On Friday afternoon, President Trump posted an unexpectedly optimistic message in the wake of SCOTUS' decision. Trump's layered response, which echoed very closely his live reaction in a press conference, spilled into two separate posts.

'Today I will sign an Order to impose a 10% GLOBAL TARIFF, under Section 122, over and above our normal TARIFFS already being charged.'

Trump began by praising the "Strength, Wisdom, and Love of our Country" exhibited by dissenting Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh before attacking those in the majority:

"The Democrats on the Court are thrilled, but they will automatically vote 'NO' against ANYTHING that makes America Strong and Healthy Again. They, also, are a Disgrace to our Nation. Others think they’re being 'politically correct,' which has happened before, far too often, with certain Members of this Court when, in fact, they’re just FOOLS and 'LAPDOGS' for the RINOS and Radical Left Democrats and, not that this should have anything to do with it, very unpatriotic, and disloyal to the Constitution."

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Trump then suggested that the court "has been swayed by foreign interests" who are "dancing in the streets" as a result of the ruling.

However, Trump then said that the decision was largely a positive development because it clarified the president's authority under the IEEPA only, while leaving open several other avenues for imposing tariffs: "All of those TARIFFS remain, but other alternatives will now be used to replace the ones that the Court incorrectly rejected."

He drew from Justice Kavanaugh's dissenting opinion to illustrate the "different direction" that he will pursue, "which is even stronger than our original choice." As Trump noted, Kavanaugh wrote,

Although I firmly disagree with the Court's holding today, the decision might not substantially constrain a President's ability to order tariffs going forward. That is because numerous other federal statutes authorize the President to impose tariffs and might justify most (if not all) of the tariffs issued in this case. ... Those statutes include, for example, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Section 232); the Trade Act of 1974 (Sections 122, 201, and 301); and the Tariff Act of 1930 (Section 338).

Trump omitted Kavanaugh's mention of "a few procedural steps" that may be required with these other avenues for tariffs that the IEEPA does not require.

Nearing the end of his post, Trump argued that the Supreme Court had unintentionally made the president's "ability to both regulate TRADE, and impost TARIFFS, more powerful and crystal clear, rather than less."

As a result, Trump issued several orders at the end of his post, indicating his intention to continue the tariffs, including a "10% GLOBAL TARIFF," under the existing statutory authorities cited earlier in the post:

"Therefore, effective immediately, all National Security TARIFFS, Section 232 and existing Section 301 TARIFFS, remain in place, and in full force and effect. Today I will sign an Order to impose a 10% GLOBAL TARIFF, under Section 122, over and above our normal TARIFFS already being charged, and we are also initiating several Section 301 and other Investigations to protect our Country from unfair Trading practices," Trump wrote.

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President Donald Trump said Friday he is "ashamed of certain members" of the Supreme Court after Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom he appointed in his first term, ruled against his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). 

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A bizarre Instagrammable selfie opportunity on the Brooklyn Bridge involves disgusting trash, including tampons and condoms, being tied to a fence.

Other garbage items affixed to the fence include panties, dirty tissues, Band-Aids, and hairbands, according to the New York Post. Some of the residents are opposed to the accumulation of disgusting trash that has gotten worse in recent weeks.

'Welcome to the "Big Cesspool" that used to be an Apple.'

"I walk over the bridge almost every day. And one day I was just like, ‘I’ve had enough!'” said Ellen Baum of Brooklyn Heights, who has been documenting her cleanup efforts on social media.

"It’s just f**king disgusting," said Baum, who disagrees "completely" with people calling the condom wall a piece of art.

"The interactions and conversations that take place on the bridge are the art. The bridge itself is the art," she added. "We don’t need to put literal trash on it."

The Department of Transportation could not tell the Post how many people were cited for littering on the bridge and also refused to say how often it's cleaned up by the city.

"The iconic Brooklyn Bridge has been called ‘America’s Eiffel Tower,’ and cluttering it with debris detracts from the enjoyment of everyone who uses the bridge and burdens the hardworking crews who maintain this historic landmark," said a DOT spokesperson to the Post.

A Blaze News request for comment from the mayor's office was not immediately answered.

The online reaction to the trash-bridge was not very supportive.

"When I was a kid it was locks on bridges and fences and sneakers on powerlines. WTF happened to the good times," responded one user on the X platform.

"It’s tragic to see a world-class landmark treated like a literal dumpster," said another detractor.

"NYC is disgusting. Used to have family in Queens, then he moved to NJ, then left entirely this past year. I've been there a half dozen times or so, no desire to ever go back. It's the dirtiest city I've ever seen, and everything is a hassle and overpriced," read another reply.

"The amount of DNA that’s there ... you can probably solve a few cold cases," joked another user.

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"Welcome to the 'Big Cesspool' that used to be an Apple," said one user.

"After my parents moved us to a home near the Jersey shore when I was 7, I would spend summers with my aunt who lived in Brooklyn Heights. We would walk her dog down to the Brooklyn bridge and I was awed by the beautiful bridge and its history. So sad!" recalled one commentator.

"What the f**k is wrong with you people?" replied one man simply.

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