Contributed photo
Contributed photo
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) released a statement this week in response to the decision by the Department of Justice, Department of Education and states' attorneys general to settle litigation with Education Management Corporation (EDMC) over the company’s alleged use of illegal incentive compensation with recruiters, as well as other deceptive recruitment tactics.
The terms of the agreement require EDMC to pay $95.5 million to the federal government and states, $1.9 million of which will go to the State of Illinois.
“EDMC’s ‘recruitment mill’ swindled federal taxpayers out of nearly $11 billion over the course of more than 10 years and lured thousands of students into taking on mountains of federal student-loan debt for a worthless diploma,” Durbin said. “Where’s the accountability for the executives who ran this scheme and ran away with our tax dollars?”
The agreement is part of several recent public-relations disasters in the for-profit education industry, which has been facing public and regulatory scrutiny. Earlier this month, Durbin and five fellow senators talked on the Senate floor about the continuing revelations of deceptive tactics in the industry, calling for more federal oversight.
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