Baltimore City Community College audit found that $264,000 in financial aid was awarded to 145 potentially fictitious “ghost students,” while other failures involved payroll, procurement and unused equipment, as noted by Baltimore Chronicle.
What auditors found at BCCC
The Maryland Office of Legislative Audits said the college identified suspicious accounts in May 2024. These students reportedly registered for the same courses several times and had no prior testing history. Still, the school disbursed aid without properly checking documents.
Auditors warned BCCC may need to reimburse the federal government. The college also included those students in funding calculations and received $126,901 from the Maryland Higher Education Commission by February 2026.
Procurement and unused equipment
The audit also found repeated problems with state procurement rules. One example was a $263,000 hospitality training contract that was awarded without giving other vendors a chance to compete.
| Finding | Amount / Impact |
|---|---|
| Financial aid awarded to ghost students | $264,000 |
| Potentially fictitious students identified | 145 |
| Additional state funding linked to those students | $126,901 |
| Hospitality training contract questioned by auditors | $263,000 |
| Unused surveillance and access-control equipment | $508,000 |
| Payroll payments issued after employee termination | Approximately $29,000 |
| Employees not promptly removed from payroll system | 897 |
| Overpayments identified in contracts | More than $100,000 |
| Underpayments identified in contracts | $58,000 |
The report also said surveillance cameras and door access controllers worth $508,000 remained unused for up to 3 years. For a public college, this raises serious questions about internal control and oversight.
Payroll and inventory concerns
Auditors said 897 former employees were not removed from payroll for at least 2 weeks after leaving. In 5 reviewed cases, regular payments after termination totaled about $29,000.
Key problems included:
- ghost students receiving aid;
- former employees staying in payroll systems;
- unused equipment remaining idle;
- missing inventory written off without proper approval.
After the audit, BCCC President Debra L. McCurdy agreed with the findings. The college said it will create a centralized tracking system for suspected fraud and improve payroll and inventory controls.
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