California’s Attorney General Kamala D. Harris won a settlement in excess of $1.1 billion against defunct for-profit Corinthian Colleges for defrauding students  with false advertising. There is a website in the linked article where students can apply for restitution. Since the corporation is bankrupt, they may never see any repayment. The entire for-profit sector is a mighty scam; they should all be tightly regulated for fraud and predatory practices. Or shut down before more students are ripped off.

 

The Los Angeles Times reported:

 

 

Granting a default judgment, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow found that Corinthian Colleges provided untrue or misleading statements about graduates’ job placement rates, duping both students and investors, and that the Santa Ana-based company unlawfully used U.S. military seals in advertisements, among other claims.
The for-profit college operator, which filed for bankruptcy protection in May, was also faulted for advertising programs or degrees that it didn’t offer, such as training programs for X-ray and dialysis technicians, according to court papers.

 

The judgment found that Corinthian and its subsidiaries had unfair and unlawful debt collection practices, including barring students from attending classes if they were behind on loan payments, and that they failed to disclose their role in the “Genesis loan” program.

 

Corinthian Colleges, along with its Heald College business, were also faulted for misrepresenting the likelihood of whether academic credits earned at their programs could be transferred to the Cal State system, according to court papers.

 

In his 21-page judgment, Karnow ordered restitution of $820 million for students and civil penalties of just more than $350 million.
“For years, Corinthian profited off the backs of poor people — now they have to pay. This judgment sends a clear message: There is a cost to this kind of predatory conduct,” Harris said in a statement.

 

Harris filed suit against Corinthian Colleges Inc. and its subsidiaries in 2013, accusing the company of targeting low-income students with a “predatory scheme,” touting untrue job placement rates.

 

The attorneys for Corinthian did not appear at hearings, because they say the  corporation is bankrupt and there is no one to represent.