Have a Claim?

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

1-212-350-2774

October 27, 2020

Posted  October 27, 2020

In what appears to be one of the largest Post-9/11 G.I. Bill fraud cases ever prosecuted in the country, the owner of a technical training school in San Diego has been sentenced to over three years in prison and ordered to pay almost $30 million in restitution for defrauding the VA out of almost $30 million.  To conceal the fact that Blue Star Learning had close to 100% veteran students—which violated the VA’s “85/15 Rule” that required 85% non-veteran students per course—and to conceal the fact that most of the school’s graduates did not obtain jobs in the fields they were trained in, owner Nimesh Shah allegedly created and submitted elaborate student and graduate files to the California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education (CSAAVE) and the VA.  Because he knew the fake students and employers could be contacted by the agencies, Shah went so far as to have an employee buy 30 mobile phones outfitted with fake company voicemails, as well as hire overseas individuals to man fake email addresses that he created.  As a result of the fraud scheme, Blue Star Learning was paid over $11 million in tuition and over $18 million in housing allowances and stipends.  USAO SDCA

Tagged in: Education Fraud, Government Programs Fraud,