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FOIA Request to North Carolina Community College System Regarding Financial Aid Fraud on May 7, 2025.
As part of our ongoing commitment to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, we at Old North News have submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the North Carolina Community College System. This request seeks detailed records concerning financial aid fraud within the state’s community colleges.
Our inquiry is prompted by reports of escalating financial aid fraud in California community colleges, where bots are reportedly making up 25% of applicants. These fraudulent activities, carried out by individuals known as “Pell runners,” involve exploiting artificial intelligence to secure grants and then disappearing with the funds. Since 2021, this has cost schools over $5 million despite enhanced detection efforts.
In our request, we specifically asked whether the North Carolina Community College System tracks financial aid fraud and requested data points including college names, applicant names, fraud amounts, and incident dates if such tracking occurs. Access to these public records is crucial for us to fulfill our professional responsibilities of holding public institutions accountable and ensuring transparency for the public.
As members of The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy—a non-profit organization assisting media companies in investigating state and federal governmental agencies—we believe this information will help inform the American electorate about potential vulnerabilities in financial aid systems. We also requested a fee waiver due to our role in disseminating information as media professionals.
We await a response from the North Carolina Community College System and remain committed to bringing important issues like these to light for our readers.
