Corinthian Colleges, Santa Ana-Based Diploma Mill, Loses Appeal of Whistleblower Suit Over Bonuses


The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has restored a whistle-blower lawsuit that accuses
Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges of violating federal law by paying
bonuses to recruiters based on how many students they enrolled
into the for-profit vocational schools.
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Federal law was enacted to outlaw such commissions out of fears that they reward recruiters who sign up unqualified students who eventually won't or can't repay federally guaranteed loans.

Former Corinthian employees Nyoka Lee and Talala Mshuja
filed a whistle-blower lawsuit in 2007 accusing the public company of doing just that. The suit contends Corinthian, which receives billions of dollars in federal subsidies, of paying recruiters bonuses of 2.5% to 10% of their
salaries based on the number of students they enroll.

A federal judge in Los Angeles previously dismissed the
lawsuit, claiming Corinthian did not violate federal law even if the allegations are true, but the appeals court disagreed. You can read the opinion here.

“We continue to believe that there is no basis for this case
and we will contest it vigorously,” vowed Corinthian spokesman Kent
Jenkins
in a statement (via the Los Angeles Times). 

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