In July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought a complaint against Career Step LLC for targeting servicemembers with misrepresentations concerning Career Step’s ability to match its customers with jobs in the healthcare...more
On April 17, 2024, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with BloomTech Inc., d/b/a Bloom Institute of Technology (BloomTech), and BloomTech’s CEO, Austen Allred,...more
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issued new Gainful Employment (GE) regulations in September 2023 for the first time since 2014. These program-specific regulations impose important compliance obligations on...more
In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" for the prior month covered during the July 2023 webinar. Bite 10: Public Inquiry Launched into Credit Card and Loan Products for Healthcare Costs - On July 7,...more
On July 13, 2023, the CFPB and various state attorneys general, along with California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, filed an adversary proceeding against a sales training company for deceptive...more
In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" for the prior month covered during the April 2023 webinar....more
Plaintiffs’ bar goes after Ricola for promoting inactive ingredients - Please Ignore This Section if You Are Easily Annoyed - Let’s unpack, for just a moment, one of the most oft-cited television commercials of all...more
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in the Northern District of Illinois against the Saint James School of Medicine (SJSM), an Illinois-based for-profit medical school, claiming its Caribbean medical...more
On April 15, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it obtained a permanent injunction against an Illinois-based, offshore, for-profit medical school for deceptive marketing practices. In its complaint...more
In a March 25 letter to Rohit Chopra, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, AGs from 21 states, plus the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection, responded to the CFPB’s Notice and Request for Comment Regarding...more
Defendants Cannot Move for Compassionate Release Based Solely on Post-Sentencing Cooperation- United States v. Claude (October 27, 2021), No. 20-3563- BACKGROUND- Defendant sought compassionate release to reduce his...more
We recently reported on a Fifth Circuit decision that ruled some private, for-profit student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy without a showing of undue hardship—something unusual and inconsistent with the widely-held...more
Many student loan borrowers, lenders, and servicers operate under the presumption that student loans are generally not dischargeable in bankruptcy, absent an "undue hardship." That notion may no longer be a bright line rule,...more
Last week, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal took the lead in pursing two actions against the U.S. Department of Education related to the Department’s alleged refusals to cooperate with state investigations of student...more
Over the last few months state legislatures have put forward various bills that would increase regulation of postsecondary education. ...more
The Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC)—an organization established by former CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman—recently published an article examining the Department of Education’s oversight of “lead...more
State attorneys general (AGs) remain busy in the financial services industry, with an almost $500 million settlement between a for-profit college and the AGs of 48 states and Washington, D.C....more
On August 14, 2018, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks to rescind the Obama-era Gainful Employment (GE) regulations applicable to for-profit educational...more
Thanks to the rapid development and widespread acceptance of online programs over the last decade, American universities and their respective business partners now offer degree or non-degree programs entirely online around...more
The New Jersey Attorney General, Gurbir Grewal, has sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos in which the NJ AG invites the ED to work with his office “to ensure that any investigations of fraudulent...more
On December 6, 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a securities fraud lawsuit brought against DeVry Education Group, Inc. and several of its executives (“DeVry”), with leave...more
Counsel contemplating an appeal often depend on the “tolling” effect of authorized post-judgment motions, which can extend an otherwise-applicable appeal deadline. In particular, in most federal civil cases, the appellant has...more
While there are indications that Washington has lessened its antipathy towards for-profit institutions, states continue to go in their own directions. This post focuses on the California Assembly’s recommendation to eliminate...more
State authorization requirements, particularly for online education programs, remain in flux even as more states join the state reciprocity compact, known as SARA, which applies to accredited institutions. There are...more
In a departure from past interpretation, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a ruling on May 1, 2017 expanding the use of personal property tax exemptions available to for-profit institutions. In SBC Health Midwest, Inc. v City...more