Kentucky General News for June 2012 is available
- Details
- Category: Kentucky News
- Created on Friday, July 06 2012 14:43
- Posted or Written by: C2
Flanked by four U.S. Senators, fellow state Attorneys General, a top military consumer protection advocate and the deputy secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Attorney General Conway announced a major win for veterans against predatory practices being employed by the for-profit college industry. At a June 27 press conference in Washington, D.C., General Conway announced that California-based QuinStreet, Inc. will turn over the website GIBill.com to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The company will also pay $2.5 million to Kentucky and 19 other states to resolve allegations that it violated the states’ consumer protection laws.
The settlement is the result of a bipartisan effort led by General Conway as part of his investigation into the questionable business practices of some for-profit colleges. “This company preyed on our veterans who received educational benefits as a result of their military service to our country,” General Conway said. “The actions were unconscionable and purposefully drove veterans to for-profit colleges who were perhaps more interested in getting their hands on the federal benefits than in educating our soldiers and their families.”
With images of men and women in uniform, GIBill.com looked like it could be owned and operated by the U.S. government. The colleges listed as “GI Bill Schools” on the website were all for-profit colleges, giving the impression that these were the only schools that accepted GI Bill benefits. The states found that for-profit colleges were paying QuinStreet to generate leads for their recruiters.
“I applaud the state Attorneys General for the settlement announced today to protect servicemembers from misleading and deceptive websites that target their GI Bill benefits,” said Holly Petraeus, assistant director for servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In addition to giving up ownership of GIBill.com, QuinStreet will shut down and cease to use any domain names that include the term “GI Bill.” The Department of Veterans Affairs will use GIBill.com to promote the GI Bill program and educate servicemembers about the program’s benefits.
More information:http://migration.kentucky.gov/Newsroom/ag/quinstreetavc.htm
