California’s community colleges have given more than $5 million to fraudulent “Pell runners” since fall 2021, a report from CalMatters finds.
Pell runners are scammers who enroll in community colleges to apply for a federal Pell grant and then disappear.
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The backstory: The Pell Grant provides needs-based financial aid to students, with the maximum federal Pell Grant award for the 2022-2023 year coming in at $6,895.
The big picture: According to reports from California’s community colleges to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, over $5 million has been handed out to Pell runners.
- Additionally, the state’s community colleges report that the scammers have also received close to $1.5 million in state and local aid.
- The Chancellor’s Office began requiring 116 community colleges to submit reports about fraud three years ago, suspecting 20% fraudulent applicants at the time.
Go deeper: Fraud has increased despite expectations of subside after the COVID-19 pandemic and special one-time grants to help students
- In January 2024, the Chancellor’s Office suspected 25% fraudulent applicants.
- College officials suspect most of the fake students are bots and often display tell-tale signs.
- The data and information collected show that fraud represents less than 1% of the total financial aid awarded to community college students in the same time period.
- California allocated more than $125 million since 2022 to detect fraud, enhance cybersecurity, and make changes in the online application process.
