Attorney General Bonta Urges FTC to Examine Deceptive Claims by For-Profit Colleges Relating to Student Earning Potential
May 10, 2022
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined 24 attorneys general in supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) efforts to address misleading claims made by certain industries, including for-profit schools about earning potential. State attorneys general have long been at the forefront of efforts to hold predatory for-profit colleges accountable for defrauding its students, investigating and taking enforcement action against schools like Ashford University and Corinthian Colleges for misrepresentations related to post-graduation earning potential. In today’s letter, the attorneys general encourage the FTC to look at the harm these schools can and often do inflict on students, as well as the variety of ways in which for-profit schools misrepresent future earnings, as part of its rulemaking to strengthen its ability to obtain restitution in cases involving misleading earnings claims.
“Many students have seen their higher education dreams turn into a nightmare after enrolling in a predatory for-profit institution,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Lured in by false claims of future earnings, these students leave weighed down by debt and unable to find a job. My office has fought long and hard to get restitution for many of these defrauded student borrowers, and we’re committed to doing all we can to combat this industry-wide practice of deception. I encourage the FTC to look closely at our work on this front as it works to develop new tools to hold predatory actors accountable.”
