Conway and other AGs land $2.5 mil. settlement with for-profit college website

Attorney General Jack Conway announced Wednesday that a company that “preyed on our veterans” will pay a $2.5 million settlement to 20 states and turn over its website to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The states involved in the legal action say that the owner of GIBill.com, QuinStreet, Inc. violated the states’ consumer protection laws while operating websites that generate leads primarily for the for-profit college industry. The states argued that several of the company’s sites targeting military service members, including GIBill.com, were deceptive and misleading in giving the appearance that the sites were operated, owned or endorsed by the U.S. government or military

The settlement is an offshoot of Conway’s ongoing investigations of the recruiting and business practices of some proprietary colleges. Conway’s office has been investigating seven for profit colleges in the state of Kentucky.

“This company preyed on our veterans who received educational benefits as a result of their military service to our country,” Conway said in a statement. “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.”

This investigation found that the website GIBill.com, was delivering misleading information to veterans by listing only schools owned by QuinStreet, Inc. as “eligible GI Bill schools.”

The states participating in the settlement include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.