At Blue Star Learning, a vocational school in San Diego, the real motive was not education, but fraud. Over four years, more than 1,100 military veterans enrolled at Blue Star ostensibly to learn computer skills. However, most joined to collect a GI Bill housing allowance of approximately $3,000 monthly, according to court documents and law enforcement records obtained by The Washington Post.
Veterans logged about 18 hours in class weekly to create the appearance of full-time student status. In reality, many were engaged in activities like sleeping, watching YouTube, or idly passing time. Justin Foose, former admissions director at Blue Star, confessed to federal agents that classes were nonfunctional, with little to no actual teaching occurring.
Prosecutors labeled Blue Star as a “ghost” or “shell” school. Its owner was convicted of fraud and imprisoned in 2020. The school became part of a GI Bill scam that has since proliferated across the nation. Unlike other fraudulent operations that exploit veterans, ghost schools depend on vet complicity in schemes. These schools, designed to capitalize on veterans seeking benefits without pursuing genuine education, have been part of a larger trend detected and prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Since the Trump administration, the Justice Department has achieved convictions and civil penalties against at least 12 ghost school operators for defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs under the GI Bill program. These institutions encouraged students to skip classes or attend while putting in minimal effort.
Investigators suspect they have uncovered only a small fraction of ghost schools exploiting the GI Bill. Fraudulent operations undermine the GI Bill’s purpose to help veterans acquire skills for civilian employment. Currently, the program supports 36 months of tuition for veterans attending college or trade schools, with significant financial backing from the federal government.
The Role of Complicit Veterans
Some veterans enrolled in ghost schools not for education, but to access housing subsidies. These subsidies vary depending on the cost of living in a veteran’s area, with some receiving more than $4,000 monthly.
Michelle Wasserman, the federal prosecutor who oversaw the Blue Star Learning case, noted that some veterans prioritized benefits over education. These veterans tolerated the superficial education provided in exchange for monetary rewards. This systemic issue has been exacerbated by lax oversight.
Challenges in Detecting and Prosecuting Fraud
Federal law mandates that VA auditors visit GI Bill-funded schools biennially. However, many schools have not been reviewed in over three years. Ghost schools, in many cases, escape detection due to the complexity and subtlety of their scams.
Of the 12 schools prosecuted, 10 were unaccredited. While ghost school operators have faced prison, veterans involved have rarely been prosecuted. Only one case in the past decade led to veterans being charged alongside school operators.
Investigative Efforts and Findings
The Washington Post sued the Veterans Affairs Department to obtain records revealing the scale of ghost school activities. After persistent efforts, thousands of pages of law enforcement files were made available detailing investigations into ghost school scams nationwide.
The VA has partnered with states to monitor GI Bill-funded schools. However, there is an ongoing blame game between federal and state authorities over responsibility for oversight failures.
In the case of Blue Star Learning, initial suspicions of fraud led to its removal from the GI Bill program. Nonetheless, deceitful practices allowed its temporary reentry, propelling the scam further before its ultimate exposure and shutdown.
School Operators Exploiting Loopholes
At other institutions, ghost school operators often enticed veterans with easy programs. At the California Technical Academy, 40% of GI Bill students lived over 75 miles from the school, indicating noncompliance with in-person attendance requirements.
Such patterns of deception were recurrent. Undercover federal operations have documented numerous veterans attending schools primarily for financial gain. Despite their presence on rosters, many rarely attended classes.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the prosecution of ghost school operators has challenged the exploitation of the GI Bill system. While many operators received sentences and penalties, the intricate nature of veteran involvement in these schemes poses ongoing challenges for law enforcement to address.
Leave a Reply