We’ve provided free help to more than 5,000 veterans and servicemembers – and many corporate whistleblowers. Sometimes we win through negotiations, such as when we helped veterans at Stanford University get their full housing allowance, and sometimes we win through legal action. We also help law enforcement with information and victim and whistleblower connections. Most of our work is private and confidential, but here you can see our public filings.
Free help with your GI Bill and student rights is available at [email protected].
OUR LEGAL REPORTS AND MEMOS
Veteran and Servicemember Complaints about Misconduct and Illegal Practices at Ashford University
In 2017, we conducted a review of the complaints we have received from veterans and servicemembers who have attended Ashford, as part of our free legal services for veterans and servicemembers. What follows is a [...]
Harvard Law School Report: Veteran and Servicemember Complaints about Misconduct and Illegal Practices at Kaplan Schools
In 2017, Veterans Education Success contracted with Harvard Law School's Project on Predatory Lending to analyze complaints against Kaplan brought to Veterans Education Success by student veterans. For-profit schools have garnered significant attention for their [...]
Sampling of Student Complaints about Ashford University
"[Ashford] lied about the costs. When I asked to withdraw I was told I would have no debt. I asked a number of times. I explained to my advisor that I was struggling and they [...]
Veterans with Pending Borrower Defense Applications at the Education Department
"I have a so-called degree from ITT Tech and found that most employers laugh at it. During my time there I had accrued a fair amount of debt from this fraudulent school and am having [...]
Yale Law School Report: Student Veteran Complaints Alleging Illegal Practices at University of Phoenix
In 2016 and 2017, Veterans Education Success contracted with Yale Law School's Veterans Legal Clinic to analyze complaints against the University of Phoenix (UOP) brought to Veterans Education Success by student veterans. UOP is a [...]
Yale Law School Report: Student Veteran Complaints Alleging Illegal Practices at Colorado Technical University
In 2016 and 2017, Veterans Education Success contracted with Yale Law School's Veterans Legal Clinic to analyze complaints about Colorado Technical University (CTU) brought to Veterans Education Success by student veterans and military students. What [...]
OUR LEGAL ADVOCACY LETTERS
Some of our legal advocacy letters can be shared publicly.
Our Testimony to the Federal Trade Commission during July Open Commission Meeting
James Haynes, Veterans Education Success FTC Testimony Federal Trade Commission July 1, 2021 Good afternoon, my name is James Haynes and I am here today on behalf of Veterans Education Success. Student veterans have long [...]
Letter to Education Department Regarding the Center for Excellence in Higher Education
March 26, 2021 Ms. Robin Minor Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 Via e-mail: [email protected] Dear Ms. Minor: As advocates for students and [...]
Letter to the Education Department Re: Colorado Tech U and American InterContinental U
March 24, 2021 Ms. Robin Minor Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 Via e-mail: [email protected] Dear Ms. Minor: We write, as organizations who [...]
Our Letter to the VA regarding the Center for Excellence in Higher Education
February 12, 2021 Thomas J. Murphy Acting Under Secretary for Benefits U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue NW Washington, DC 20571 Re: VA Compliance with 38 U.S.C. § 3696(a) regarding the Center for [...]
Letter to VA and Louisiana State Approving Agency about US K9 Unlimited
We alerted VA and state authorities about a K9 training school that allegedly mistreated and threatened student veterans, purposefully structured programs to get as much money out of veterans' GI Bill benefits as it could, [...]
OUR SUBMISSIONS TO ACCREDITORS
Our legal team provides submissions to college accreditors, documenting our findings about specific colleges, including our research findings, student veteran complaints, and whistleblower concerns.
- Our Letter to Aviation Institute of Maintenance’s Accreditor | Jan. 2024
- Our Letter to Concorde Career College’s Accreditor | Jan. 2024
- Our Letter to IntelliTec’s Accreditor | Jan. 2024
- Our Letter to Lincoln Technical Institute’s Accreditor | Jan. 2024
- Our Letter to Remington College’s Accreditor | Jan. 2024
- Our Letter to Lincoln Technical Institute’s Accreditor | Oct. 2023
- Our Letter to Aviation Institute of Maintenance’s Accreditor | Oct. 2023
- Our Third Party Comment to Higher Learning Commission regarding University of Phoenix | Nov. 2018
- Our memo outlining HLC’s standards and the ways UOP has violated those standards
- Yale Law School memo describing hundreds of student veteran complaints received by VES
- Affidavit from Veterans Education Success President Wofford regarding the concerns expressed by, and documents received from, four UOP whistleblowers
- Letter from a UOP whistleblower sharing concerns
- Our Third Party Comment to WASC Senior College and University Commission regarding Ashford University | Dec. 20, 2017
- Our Submission of Additional Information to Ashford’s Accreditor| Feb. 22, 2018
OUR LEGAL BRIEFS
We serve as a solo amicus in a case regarding the rights of whistleblowers under the federal False Claims Act:
- Court recognition of Veterans Education Success’ amicus curiae filing (Oct. 2017) (here)
- Stephens Institute’s Reply Brief (Sept. 2017) (here)
- Motion for permission to file amicus brief (Aug. 9, 2017) (here)
- Amicus brief filed with the 9th Circuit (Aug. 7, 2017) (here)
We won two amicus cases to protect students’ rights to sue loan servicing companies that fail to comply with Public Service Loan Forgiveness – which is important to veterans and servicemembers and to recruiting and retention by the U.S. military, Veterans Affairs Department, and veterans organizations.
- Our brief in Reavis v. PHEAA (Dec. 16, 2019) (here). On July 14 ,2020, the Montana Supreme Court agreed with us! (here)
- Our brief in Lawson-Ross v. Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. (Dec. 10, 2018) (here). On April 10, 2020, the 11th Circuit Court agreed with us! (here)
We helped ITT Tech and Corinthian students, working closely with several hundred individuals to file claims with the Court.
We also supported lawyers at Harvard Law School’s Project on Predatory Student Lending, who represent a class of all 750,000 former ITT Tech students (including veterans) who attended in the last 10 years:
- ITT Class Action Settlement: US Court awards financial recompense to ITT students (Jan. 2018) (here). Students win $168 million in student debt cancellation (June 2019) (here)
- ITT Tech Student Class Complaint (Jan. 2017) (here)
- Veterans Education Success President Carrie Wofford’s Affidavit (here)
- US Securities & Exchange Commission rejects settlement terms for ITT Tech Executives who defrauded investors (Aug. 2017) (here)
We’ve joined several amici curiae briefs regarding the Gainful Employment rule at the US Department of Education that weeds out poor performing career college programs:
OUR FOIA REQUESTS
We file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to government agencies to help expose important facts to protect veterans, servicemembers, and military families.
Education Dept’s Response to our FOIA re Disabled Veterans
The Education Department responded to our FOIA request regarding totally disabled veterans' legal right to loan forgiveness. The FOIA response shows that more than half of the 42,000 totally and permanently disabled veterans who are [...]
FOIA Response from the Education Department Regarding Disabled Veterans
We sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the US Education Department. This is the Department’s answer. It shows that half of disabled veterans who are eligible for loan forgiveness are already in default. [...]
LAW ENFORCEMENT NEWS
Veterans Education Success works with federal and state law enforcement to protect the rights of veterans, service-members, military family members and survivors.
Inside Higher Ed: FTC Shuts Down Scam Military Websites
The Federal Trade Commission has reached agreements to shut down several copycat military websites that targeted people looking to join the armed services and then used their personal information to market for-profit colleges, the commission [...]
Federal Trade Commission shuts down predatory fake military websites (Army.com, Air-Force.com, NavyEnlist.com, and ArmyEnlist.com)
The operators of copycat websites army.com and navyenlist.com have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they targeted people seeking to join the armed forces and tricked them by falsely claiming to be affiliated [...]
American Military University settles lawsuit with Massachusetts Attorney General, paying $270,000 for high pressure enrollment tactics and failure to disclose graduates’ job prospects
BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey today announced a settlement with an online for-profit school over allegations that the school violated Massachusetts law by failing to make mandated disclosures to prospective students about job placement [...]
DeVry students in Texas sue DeVry based on FTC’s findings of deceptions about job placement
This lawsuit seeks damages from Defendants for violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (“DTPA”), fraud, negligent misrepresentations, and restitution for unjust enrichment against Defendants ADTALEM GLOBAL EDUCATION, INC., and DEVRY UNIVERSITY INC. Defendants [...]
California Attorney General Secures $67 Million in Debt Relief for Defrauded Former Corinthian Students in California
SAN FRANCISCO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced a settlement with Balboa Student Loan Trust (Balboa) that will provide $67 million in critical debt forgiveness and other much-needed relief for the 34,971 Californians who [...]
Massachusetts Attorney General announces settlement with New England College of Business and Finance
BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey today announced a settlement with a for-profit online college based in Boston over allegations of failing to make proper disclosures of its programs for prospective students and engaging in [...]
New York Attorney General announces settlement with Trump University for defrauding students
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released the following statement: "Today's approval of the Trump University class action settlement by the Ninth Circuit means that victims of Donald Trump’s fraudulent university will soon receive [...]
FTC Approves Final Consent Order in Victory Media Advertising Case
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has issued a final order settling charges that Victory Media violated Section 5 of the FTC Act in connection with its promotion of post-secondary schools to [...]
State Attorney Generals sue US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for withholding student loan debt relief to defrauded Corinthian students
SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and its Secretary, Betsy DeVos, for refusing to process debt relief claims submitted by tens of thousands of students [...]
Public Comments | Victory Media, “Gi Jobs” and “Military Friendly” Settlement
The Federal Trade Commission and Victory Media, Inc. have reached a proposed administrative consent agreement resolving allegations that Victory Media violated Section 5 of the FTC Act in connection with its promotion of post-secondary schools [...]