The students enrolled in the fake university through a visa program that allows foreigners to work and study in the U.S. That’s how much money the federal government is believed to have collected in tuition money from the students, according to multiple reports. Key background: Although the fake university was set up in 2015, it wasn’t until 2017 that federal officials began posing as university staff, according to the Washington Post. Federal law states that a college or university needs to be accredited in order for international students to be granted visas. Tangent: This isn’t the first time the U.S. government has set up a fake university.

Source: Forbes November 27, 2019 21:00 UTC