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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Brooks Institute Lied To Her, Student Says

SANTA BARBARA (CN) - Career Education Corporation and the Brooks Institute of Photography defrauded a student with false claims about job placement rates, opportunities, employment assistance and graduates' salaries, the student claims in Superior Court.

Career Education Corp. reported income of $1.7 billion in 2004 from its 82 campuses catering to 101,000 students in five countries, the complaint states.

Among the deceptions Brooks used were to count any job a graduate got as a job in his or her field of study, and manufacturing temporary jobs at the school "in order to count those students as placed," the complaint states. But "Once counted, the student would no longer be employed by Defendants."

"CEC has been investigated by a number of state and federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice," the complaint states. "The United States Department of Education imposed a freeze on the establishment of any new campuses or acquisitions by the company while it was investigating CEC's compliance with federal student aid regulations."

The complaint continues: "According to the California Postsecondary Education Committee, a typical year at Brooks will cost a student $38,212. ... Many will require private loans at high rates of interest. Based on the current costs, the typical Brooks student will be more than $100,000 in debt at the conclusion of their studies."

Plaintiff Heather Greene is represented by Lauren John Udden.

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