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A Florida for-profit college hired exotic dancers as ‘admissions officers’ in order to lure young male students, according to allegations in a federal lawsuit filed in Miami.
The Florida-based FastTrain College has also been accused of fraudulently obtaining some $35 million (about Rs 216 crore) in federal aid money from the US government. The federal lawsuit claims $6 million (Rs 37 crore) in damages. The college’s former owner, Alejandro Amor, has been criminally indicted with conspiracy to steal government funds.
To access taxpayer dollars, the school needed first-time students to attend class for at least 30 days. If they didn't, FastTrain falsified attendance records or backdated the enrolment so they could collect the money quicker, the lawsuit adds.
The civil lawsuit was originally by a whistleblower, a former Fast Train employee; however, the Florida attorney general and the US attorney in Miami announced on Wednesday that were joining the ongoing lawsuit against the now defunct FastTrain and its former owner Amor, 56.
FastTrain College allegedly bilked the US Department of Education by faking high school diplomas for students who had never graduated and thus could not legally collect federal financial aid. The school also falsified attendance records and backdated enrollment to show students who were not attending class were still enrolled, according to the lawsuit. According to federal law, students must attend the schools for a set amount of time before schools can collect aid money.
The now defunct college operated on seven Florida campuses and was based in Miami. On at least one of its seven campuses, FastTrain purposely hired exotic dancers and encouraged them to dress provocatively while they recruited young men in neighbourhoods to attend FastTrain.
The school has also been accused of falsifying high school diplomas for students who didn't have them. Because they never graduated from high school, the lawsuit contends the students wouldn't have qualified for student aid.
“Taking advantage of students in order to exploit federal financial aid programs is reprehensible,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The growth of for-profit colleges, which are governed by private organisations or corporations, has been explosive in Florida and across the country. As the schools have grown, numerous whistle-blower lawsuits have been filed against them by ex-employees.