GAO: For-Private Colleges Found to be Engaged in Fraudulent Business Practices

A recent report by the non-partisan United States Government Accountability Office has undercovered massive fraud at numerous for-profit private colleges. The highlight is here:
“Our covert testing at 15 for-profit colleges found that four colleges encouraged fraudulent practices, such as encouraging students to submit false information about their financial status. In addition all 15 colleges made some type of deceptive or otherwise questionable statement to undercover applicants, such as misrepresenting the applicant’s likely salary after graduation and not providing clear information about the college’s graduation rate. Other times our undercover applicants were provided accurate or helpful information by campus admissions and financial aid representatives.”
The full report is here. It is both fascinating and disturbing.
The Washington Post identified several for-profit colleges found to be engaged in fraudulent business practices. They include Kaplan University (which is owned by the Washington Post), the University of Phoenix (which is based in South Florida), MedVance Institute of Florida (with locations all over Florida), Westech College, and Everest College.
The report and the article were published several months after Sarelson Law Firm filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against MedVance. The MedVance lawsuit was covered in an earlier blog posting.
If you or somone you know was or is a student at one of the private, for-profit career colleges, we would be interested in speaking with you to determine if your rights have been violated.