It was a busy week in the Voice of San Diego newsroom.
We’ve got a lot to get through this morning, so kick your feet up and grab some cafecito. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.
Bots in Schools Crisis
Our education reporter Jakob McWhinney recently published a fascinating story about how fake students are enrolling in community college and stealing millions from financial aid.
In 2024 alone, fraudsters stole $11 million in state and federal aid dollars, McWhinney reported. He told the story of how educators at Southwestern College are grappling with the phenomenon. One professor was devastated to learn that nearly all the students in her online class were fake.
“Teachers get excited when there’s a lot of interest in their class. I felt like, ‘Great, I’m going to have a whole bunch of students who are invested and learning,’’ she told McWhinney. “But it quickly became clear that was not the case.”
Aside from stealing financial aid dollars, these fake students also take up spots from real students. You can read the full story here. Trust me, it’s worth it. Tell your friends about it.
If you’re wondering, ‘wait how is this even possible?’ McWhinney explained how the fraudsters take advantage of the system. Read the explainer here, but don’t get any ideas.
How a Mayor’s Letter Helped a Woman Get Out of Prison and What Happened After
On Friday, a federal judge sentenced a woman and her brother for being the masterminds behind an elaborate fraud scheme.
“I never thought I would be in a courtroom again,” Adriana Camberos said in a statement she read at Friday’s hearing. “I’m mortified.”
Why this case is interesting: As she alluded to in her statement, this was wasn’t Camberos’ first time in court. She was previously convicted in a different fraud scheme in 2016.
President Donald Trump, on his last day in office in 2021, commuted her sentence.
A White House statement pointed to the fact that she was a mother and a religious woman who demonstrated she was committed to her rehabilitation. But also in her favor: a letter of support from John McCann, then-deputy mayor of Chula Vista.
South County reporter Jim Hinch unpacked how that letter of support came to be, what happened since her new conviction and everything else in between (and there’s a lot).
Chisme y Cheves
Thank you to everyone who stopped by 3 Punk Ales Brewing Co. in Chula Vista for the launch of our Voice of San Diego 20th anniversary beer can. I had a great time meeting some of you chismosos and talking about Voice and politics.
If you didn’t get a chance to stop by, you can have a Voice cheve (beer) at one of their locations. Thank you to the crew of 3 Punk Ales for collaborating with us and all your support!
We’re also hosting a live podcast next month! Your favorite podcasts hosts will record live at Soda Bar on Wednesday, May 7, at 6 p.m. We are working on guests and topics, so stay tuned! RSVP here.
More Chisme to Start Your Week
- San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer joined us on the VOSD Podcast to talk about her proposals to deal with the county’s budget challenges. Listen to the episode here.
- Next week, Dan Denham, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, will join our editor Scott Lewis for a special interview on the podcast. The Water Authority’s leaders, as Lewis writes, will either “face nothing short of the challenge of saving the Water Authority or overseeing its demise. ” Lewis explains what’s happening in the Politics Report. Read it here. (This is only available to Voice members.)
- Some parents were shocked to learn that a beloved German immersion program at a charter school wasn’t as 50/50 as they thought. Our Jakob McWhinney and Voice intern Alina Ajaz teamed up to explain why parents are upset with administrators at Albert Einstein Academies.
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