SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris took steps to file additional charges against Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (CCI) alleging that the company is currently violating California false advertising and unfair competition laws and is requesting that a court immediately force CCI to tell prospective students the truth about the company’s dire financial situation and its agreement with the federal government to sell or close all of its schools.
“It is unacceptable yet not surprising that Corinthian Colleges continues to illegally target vulnerable Californians—including low income individuals, single mothers and veterans returning from combat—by lying about its dire finances and failing to tell prospective students that the schools to which they apply will all be sold or closed,” Attorney General Harris said. “My office is seeking expedited action to force Corinthian Colleges to put the interests of its students above its rapidly shrinking profits.”
Attorney General Harris filed a motion Wednesday asking San Francisco Superior Court for permission to move on an expedited basis to file a supplemental complaint enhancing the original complaint Harris filed against CCI in October 2013, which accused the company of false and predatory advertising, intentional misrepresentations to students, securities fraud, and unlawful use of military seals in advertisements. Wednesday’s motion also indicates Attorney General Harris’ intention to subsequently move for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction against CCI to force the company to immediately cease its misleading advertisements and inform prospective students about its dire finances.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 19th, CCI informed investors of its serious financial troubles and plans to close or sell its campuses. This week, CCI signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education wherein CCI agreed to close or sell its campuses to third-parties in the near future.
Despite these recent events, according to the proposed supplemental complaint, CCI has failed to inform prospective students about its dire financial condition or its plan to close or sell its schools and is, in fact, actively soliciting prospective students and enrolling new students without disclosing its current financial condition or the future of its schools. (more…)