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A Kenyan national who entered the United States through the Diversity Visa lottery programme faces at least 10 years in prison if convicted of allegedly participating in a scheme to defraud the US government of student financial aid.
Francis Mogambi was indicted by a grand jury in Nebraska on October 19, 2026, on five counts of theft of government money and five counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the US Department of Justice as reported by the BBC, Mogambi allegedly worked with associates in Kenya between November 2025 and May 2026 to steal the identities of American citizens and use them to enrol fictitious students in colleges.
Prosecutors alleged that after securing fraudulent enrolments, the group diverted student financial aid payments to Mogambi, who retained 30 percent of the proceeds and transferred the remainder to his associates in Kenya.
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The intended financial loss in Mogambi’s case was estimated at US$20,000.
Court documents indicate that he received about US$2,000 weekly and allegedly attempted to recruit another person into the scheme.
Mogambi arrived in the US in May 2024 after winning the Diversity Visa lottery. He was arrested shortly after his indictment and remains in custody awaiting trial. He has not publicly commented on the allegations.
The case forms part of a wider investigation into suspected nationwide fraud involving the Federal Student Aid system.
At a news conference on October 29, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said investigators had identified 830,840 potentially fraudulent student aid identification numbers associated with nearly US$130 million in September and October 2026.
The Justice Department said the figure represents financial aid linked to potentially fraudulent accounts and not confirmed losses.
Investigators say fraudsters use stolen personal information, sometimes purchased online for between US$4 and US$8, to create fictitious students and obtain government funding.
The scheme has also exposed victims to unexpected student loan debts and damaged credit records.
US authorities have also worked with Kenyan law enforcement to investigate alleged cross-border financial transactions and pursue asset recovery.
In one operation, investigators seized more than US$750,000 from a cryptocurrency account belonging to a Kenyan national linked to the wider investigation. The seizure was not connected to Mogambi’s individual case.
Separate prosecutions in Virginia and New Jersey have also uncovered alleged fraudulent student aid transactions involving millions of dollars.
The Justice Department said those convicted could face imprisonment, asset forfeiture and restitution to victims.
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