Post Lawsuit Uncovers $300 Million in GI Bill Fraud by For-Profit Trade Schools
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 8
Post Lawsuit Uncovers $300 Million in GI Bill Fraud by For-Profit Trade Schools
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 8
Summary
More than $300 million in GI Bill funds was lost to fraud over roughly the past decade, according to a Washington Post investigation built from records released after its federal lawsuit.
Over 8,000 pages from 20 fraud probes and complaint data showed unaccredited schools cost taxpayers more on average and drew veteran complaints at nearly five times the rate of accredited schools.
Some schemes exploited weak rules on course length and oversight: one school charged $14,900 for a four- or five-day lawn-care class, while ghost schools collected millions as veterans received $1,500 to $4,000 a month in housing subsidies.
The records also showed owners of unaccredited schools are not required to pass independent background checks, allowing some people with fraud or tax-evasion histories to win VA approval and GI Bill funding.
VA said the losses were less than 0.3% of its education budget and that it has now launched a school fraud-risk scoring tool and a Compliance, Investigations and Enforcement Division.