Tuesday, June 19, 2012
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh-based company that runs for-profit secondary schools for artists, chefs and other trades says statistics it has provided to the federal government prove its recruiters aren’t illegally paid based solely on enrollment statistics.
The U.S. Justice Department signed onto the five-year-old whistleblower lawsuit against Education Management Corp. last year.
A federal judge in Pittsburgh last month threw out some claims against the company, and found that its recruiter-pay policy was not illegal as written. But the judge let stand claims that allege the company may have illegally paid its recruiters nonetheless.
The government contends EDMC enrolled students improperly by exaggerating career-placement opportunities and in spite of some students’ qualifications in order to meet enrollment goals and obtain $11 billion in federal student aid since 2003.