Baltimore City Community College gave financial aid to ‘ghost students,’ state audit finds

A state audit shows Baltimore City Community College awarded $264,000 in financial aid to 145 potentially fictitious or “ghost students.”

“This often involves AI-powered bots that mass-apply to colleges, create fake accounts, and submit fake assignments to maintain the illusion of enrollment long enough to receive financial aid refunds,” according to the audit released Wednesday by the Office of Legislative Audits.

The audit noted the school identified the fake students in May 2024, flagging those who registered for the same course multiple times and who had no previous testing history. However, the school still awarded the financial aid without properly verifying any documentation.

“BCCC was unaware that it had awarded and disbursed these funds until we brought it to their attention. BCCC may be responsible for reimbursing the federal government for any improperly awarded aid,” the audit said.

In addition, the school included those students in the calculations for its funding request to the Maryland Higher Education Commission and received $126,901 as of February 2026

A representative from the college didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but in a written reply dated May 29, BCCC President Debra L. McCurdy agreed with the findings and said the school plans to correct them by Oct. 31.

“BCCC is implementing a centralized tracking process for all accounts identified as potentially fraudulent. This process requires documentation of review actions, status, and resolution outcomes,” she wrote. “In addition, BCCC is establishing formal procedures to ensure that suspected fraud cases are evaluated for referral to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General.”

The school plans to also assess how much it may have to reimburse to the federal government or the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

“For accounts determined to involve improper or fraudulent activity, BCCC will ensure if applicable that all required adjustments are made,” according to the letter. “BCCC will maintain documentation of all determinations, communications, and actions taken to ensure compliance with federal and State requirements and to support audit and oversight activities.”

The audit, which covered a review of the two-year urban institution between Dec. 1, 2020, to June 30, 2025, also found that the school did not adhere to some state procurement laws and didn’t adequately verify certain payments.

Mismanagement

The audit also notes that some findings are repeat violations from previous reviews such as not providing certain required documentation for awarding contracts. 

For instance, the school awarded a $263,000 contract for hospitality training that other vendors could have provided but were not given a chance to compete for.

Auditors also noted that BCCC paid for equipment and services that were not needed, finding that electronic equipment such as surveillance cameras and door access controllers that cost $508,000 “remained unused … in some cases up to three years after they were purchased.”

The school also did not ensure that the amount it paid for some items matched the price agreed to in the contract, resulting in overpayments of $100,000 and $58,000 in underpayments. 

Payroll was another concern. According to the audit, 897 employees who quit between Dec. 1, 2020 and June 30, 2025, were not removed from the payroll system until at least two weeks after they had left.

“Our review of State records disclosed that 71 of these employees were paid in pay periods after their separation,” the audit states. “We reviewed 15 of these employees whose final payroll was between 17 days and 1,526 days (50 months) after the effective date of their termination and noted that 5 received regular payroll payments totaling approximately $29,000 subsequent to their termination date. BCCC could not readily justify these payments.”

In its response, the school said it will develop and implement a formal process to ensure employees are accurately removed from the payroll system upon termination.

The audit showed the school conducted one physical check in June 2023 on missing equipment such as laptops. When the equipment wasn’t found, according to the audit, the school wrote off several million dollars of inventory “without a proper investigation.” It removed the missing items from its records without obtaining approval from the state Department of General Services.

In its written response, the school said it will establish inventory schedules and have them approved by management “to ensure accountability and timely completion. Detailed written procedures will be developed outlining inventory methodologies, documentation standards, reconciliation steps, and retention requirements.”

The goal is to complete this by June 30, 2027.