B&H Education, the operator of a chain of beauty and massage schools known as the “Marinello School of Beauty,” which are located in the state of California, paid over $8 million dollars to settle a False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuit brought by employees-turned-whistleblowers. The False Claims Act, originally enacted in…
Columbia University will pay $9.5 million dollars to settle a False Claims Act suit that alleged the university routinely overcharged federal agencies for medical research. The False Claims Act (“FCA”) allows whistleblowers to bring allegations under seal against companies and institutions that fraudulently bill the federal government. After filing, the government has…
The former president of Concorde Career Colleges Inc. (“Concorde”) is alleging that the concerns he raised regarding the recruitment policies of the for-profit school resulted in his termination in violation of the federal False Claims Act. The complaint also alleges breach of contract, and violations of Delaware Whistleblower’s Protection Act…
Yesterday, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office announced that it had filed suit under the state’s recently enacted False Claims Act against a New Jersey company that sent false invoices for textbooks that were never purchased or delivered to at least 317 Kansas public schools. The suit was filed against Robert…
The federal government and the state of Florida have filed a civil complaint under the False Claims Act, intervening in a relator’s case against FastTrain College (“FastTrain”). The now defunct Miami-based for profit chain of schools allegedly submitted fraudulent documents to the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of students…
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $400,000 settlement with Texas businessman Larry Lehmann to resolve allegations that he violated the federal False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission’s E-rate Program while acting as the CEO and managing partner of Acclaim Professional Services (“Acclaim”). The…
The for-profit college is industry has come under heavy scrutiny in recent years, resulting in litigation under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) and investigations into the recruiter payment schemes of for-profit higher educational institutions. Recently, a federal district court judge in Pittsburgh allowed an FCA whistleblower lawsuit against Education…
On September 28, Senator Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) addressed Congress in an attempt to highlight the fraud-ridden for-profit education industry. Durbin states that for-profit colleges receive the largest share of federal funding, yet are often under-performing. The University of Phoenix, DeVry University, and Kaplan University rank as the top…
For-profit universities have recently been the subject of a number of False Claims Act lawsuits. Continuing this trend, Grand Canyon Education settled its False Claims Act suit for $5.2 million in August. The whistleblower, a former employee of the company, filed the qui tam action in August 2007. The case…
Nelnet, a student lending company based in Lincoln, Nebraska, is scheduled to go to trial on a False Claims Act case next week. The lawsuit alleges that the company defrauded the U.S. Department of Education, which subsidizes many student loans to make them more affordable to students. The lawsuit seeks…