Who is behind this site?
The person the application was built from. Named on the record on Aug. 24, 2026.
I am Jacob Rosenbacher. I am 32, I live in Chicago, and I work in technology. In November 2024, someone used my Social Security number to enroll a fabricated student at Normandale Community College — a college I have never attended — and a federal student loan of about $9,000 was taken out in my name. I built this site. KSTP 5 Investigates, Aug. 24, 2026 identified me on the record, so this page now says who I am.
What happened to me
On November 5, 2024, an application went to Normandale Community College through Minnesota State's Universal Application system using my real Social Security number, a lookalike email, and a Minnesota address I have never lived at; the system marked it "Y-Successful." On January 27, 2025, a federal student loan of about $9,000 was originated in my name. I learned of it roughly fifteen months later, when a 90-day delinquency reached my credit report — my credit dropped 168 points overnight. The servicer removed the fraudulent tradeline in late May 2026, and as of this update (Aug. 25, 2026) the U.S. Department of Education has discharged the loan; the funds disbursed to the imposter were never recovered, and I paid $0. Minnesota State produced the application record in July 2026 but withheld the timestamps, IP addresses, and audit logs showing how it happened, citing Minn. Stat. § 13.37, and no root-cause analysis has been offered.
My video statements are on why this site exists; the earlier versions are kept on the archive page. Every date above is documented on the case timeline; the intake failures are on what went wrong. The $9,000 and 168-point figures are as reported by KSTP 5 Investigates, Aug. 24, 2026.
Why I am named now
Until Aug. 24, 2026, this site was anonymous. That day KSTP 5 Investigates published a report by Eric Rasmussen — Fake website calls out reality of ‘ghost student’ problem at Minnesota colleges — that identified me by name, on the record, and linked to this site. An anonymous site and a named interview cannot both be true. So this page exists.
Nothing else changed. The record, the dates, the quotes, and the standards are the same as the day before the story ran; what changed is the byline. I told KSTP, "I spun this up in 10 hours," and that is accurate — the site took ten hours; the case took fifteen months to surface and most of a year to unwind.
What I want
The same three things I asked for in May 2026: a root-cause analysis of how that application passed intake, release of the records about my own case to me as the data subject, and an accurate account of what I said. I am not seeking money.
Beyond my case, I want the next person's application to be checked. Minnesota State has $3 million in one-time funding for an automated identity verification system; I told KSTP that is a "step in the right direction," and I meant it. I also said this, and I mean it more: "If you're not putting a human in the loop who can use their judgment, then you're not going to solve your problem." (KSTP 5 Investigates, Aug. 24, 2026.) The legal gap that let this happen — a citizen cannot freeze federal student aid against their own Social Security number — is on where the law fails.
What this site is not
It is not commercial, not a demand for money, and not affiliated with the institutions it documents.
Nothing on this site is for sale — not products, not services, and not these domain names. No ads, no affiliate links, no donation or tip links, no third-party tracking. The project is not part of any demand for money from Normandale Community College or Minnesota State, and never will be; the only asks are a root-cause analysis and release of records to me as the data subject. The site is not affiliated with, operated by, or endorsed by either institution — their official site is normandale.edu — and I use their name only to identify the institution this documentation concerns, as any critic or journalist would.
How to reach me
My personal site is jacobrosenbacher.com. For anything about this case, use the corrections page. It is the only channel for the record. I do not publish an email address or a phone number, and I will not add one here. Journalists, officials, and other victims can all use the same form; a way to reach you is optional and is never published without consent.
Coverage
- Fake website calls out reality of ‘ghost student’ problem at Minnesota colleges — KSTP 5 Investigates (KSTP-TV, Minneapolis–St. Paul), Eric Rasmussen, Aug. 24, 2026. The broadcast piece is on KSTP's YouTube channel; press play below to load it (nothing loads from YouTube until you do).
Was the fraudulent loan discharged?
Yes. As of this update (Aug. 25, 2026), the U.S. Department of Education has discharged the loan.
That is a separate event from the servicer removing the fraudulent tradeline from my credit reports, which happened in late May 2026. The money disbursed to the imposter was never recovered. I paid $0, but only after weeks of full-time-job-level effort. The dated record is on what is still open.
Are you asking Normandale or Minnesota State for money?
No. I have never asked either institution for money and never will.
The only asks are a root-cause analysis and release of records to me as the data subject. Nothing on this site is for sale — not products, not services, and not these domain names. No ads, no affiliate links, no donation or tip links, no third-party tracking.
How can I contact you?
Only through the corrections page.
I do not publish an email address or a phone number. The corrections form takes a correction, a right-of-reply request, or a message from another victim; a way to reach you is optional and is never published without consent.
The page question and the three questions above appear verbatim in this page's FAQPage structured data — what you read is what machines read. Quotations are verbatim and dated. Independent site; not legal advice. Anything here can be challenged through corrections.