ACI must pay more than $25M in penalties, fees

A for-profit school that abruptly closed in 2013 has admitted to lying to its students, fabricating its records and employing grossly unqualified teachers, among a variety of other fraudulent practices, the Office of the Attorney General said Monday.American Career Institute acknowledged widespread illegal conduct, including knowingly overstating the employment prospects for its graduates; falsifying student signatures, enrollment records, attendance and grades; and using unlicensed instructors, inadequate books, instructional materials and valueless externships and providing no meaningful career placement services, according to Attorney General Maura Healey's office.Between 2010 and early 2013, ACI operated career training schools at five locations in Massachusetts, including Braintree, Cambridge, Framingham, Springfield and Woburn, offering various certificate programs, including information technology and medical assisting programs, with tuition and fees that cost up to $23,000, Healey's office said.The judgment against ACI calls for more than $25 million in civil penalties, fees, restitution and injunctive relief, with the amounts largely uncollectible and suspended because of the school's insolvency. The school's officers and directors are also permanently prohibited from operating or managing any career or vocational training school in Massachusetts.The relief will immediately benefit more than 700 former ACI students. Students receiving private student debt discharges will be notified by Healey's office.ACI also had campuses in Baltimore, Columbia and Wheaton, Maryland.Get the WCVB News App

A for-profit school that abruptly closed in 2013 has admitted to lying to its students, fabricating its records and employing grossly unqualified teachers, among a variety of other fraudulent practices, the Office of the Attorney General said Monday.

American Career Institute acknowledged widespread illegal conduct, including knowingly overstating the employment prospects for its graduates; falsifying student signatures, enrollment records, attendance and grades; and using unlicensed instructors, inadequate books, instructional materials and valueless externships and providing no meaningful career placement services, according to Attorney General Maura Healey's office.


Between 2010 and early 2013, ACI operated career training schools at five locations in Massachusetts, including Braintree, Cambridge, Framingham, Springfield and Woburn, offering various certificate programs, including information technology and medical assisting programs, with tuition and fees that cost up to $23,000, Healey's office said.

The judgment against ACI calls for more than $25 million in civil penalties, fees, restitution and injunctive relief, with the amounts largely uncollectible and suspended because of the school's insolvency. The school's officers and directors are also permanently prohibited from operating or managing any career or vocational training school in Massachusetts.

The relief will immediately benefit more than 700 former ACI students. Students receiving private student debt discharges will be notified by Healey's office.

ACI also had campuses in Baltimore, Columbia and Wheaton, Maryland.



