California's community colleges face $6.5m in financial aid fraud since fall 2021, with suspected 25% of applicants being fraudulent.

California's community colleges face rising financial aid fraud, with over $5m in federal Pell grants given to fraudulent applicants since fall 2021, and almost $1.5m in state/local aid. Fraudsters use bots or misleading info, exploiting good intentions & evading cybersecurity strategies. Despite increased efforts ($125m) to combat fraud, it persists, with suspected 25% of applicants being fraudulent.