San Diego judge fines ex-owner of Ashford University $22M for bogus admissions tactics
Mike Freeman
March 7, 2022
In lawsuit filed by California Attorney General, Ashford and parent Zovio were found to have made bogus claims about career outcomes, costs and financial aid to lure vulnerable students to enroll in the online university.
Former San Diego for-profit college Ashford University and its parent company have been fined $22.37 million in a long-running California lawsuit over hardball admission tactics that left some students deep in debt and without a degree.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Eddie Sturgeon ruled last week that Ashford and Zovio — formerly Bridgepoint Education — violated unfair competition and false advertising laws by giving prospective students bogus information to lure them to enroll. The college also misled students about job prospects, the cost of college and financial aid, the pace of an online degree program and the ability to transfer credits, the court said.
