On July 13, 2023, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed an enforcement action against a for-profit educational provider alleging the educational provider engaged in deceptive marketing and lending practices. The suit was filed in Delaware Bankruptcy Court in partnership with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and nine other states.
According to the complaint, the educational provider misrepresented debt obligations in its operation of an online vocational program. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the company represented that consumers would not owe any payment to the program until they got a high-income job, but that the terms actually required consumers to pay for the program, even if they never acquired a job.
The complaint alleges that this conduct violates provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Plaintiffs seek a declaration that the defendant made misrepresentations, a permanent injunction, full restitution to consumers who suffered losses, disgorgement, and civil penalities.