College debt racked up by ghost students in Minnesota is threatening the paychecks of real victims

“Shocked” and “panicked” are the two words Sara Brinda used to describe her initial reaction to a letter she received from the State of Minnesota over the summer. That letter was a “Demand for Payment and Intent to Levy Wages” from the Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR). The agency said Brinda owed more than $1,600 to Century Community College in White Bear Lake. “My first thought was, ‘This is probably a scam,’” Brinda said. “My second was, ‘Maybe this was a mistake.’” She never attended Century, but the threat was real. Brinda had 30 days to pay before the state would start garnishing her wages. Brinda later discovered someone stole her identity and used it to enroll at the school. As 5 INVESTIGATES has reported, so-called “ghost students” have targeted colleges in Minnesota and across the country, stealing millions of taxpayer dollars in the form of financial aid.  Now some of those fraudsters are also racking up debt in their victims’ names. Demand letters