Harris said that Santa-Anna-based Corinthian runs Everest, Heald and WyoTech colleges with a combined count of 81,000 students nationwide and 27,000 in California. A majority of the students belong to minorities in their mid-20s, many are single mothers, and the target student population has annual incomes close to about $20,000.
Harris said, "Corinthian College was serving not as an educator but as a predator of some of the most vulnerable people in our community." She said Corinthian had falsely claimed of 100 percent placement rates in some of its programs and overstated such rates in other programs.
While she did not name other companies under investigation it was reported that she has also demanded the records of San Diego-based Bridgeport Education as part of the investigation.
Harris also accused that Corinthian was illegally using official U.S. military seals in its advertising to attract veterans who have education dollars available due to their service.
In 2007, Corinthian had paid $6.5 million to settle a similar lawsuit filed by Gov. Jerry Brown while he was the Attorney General of California.
Corinthian operates 111 campuses in North America and offers three online programs.
Company spokesperson Kent Jenkins said the company was disappointed with the lawsuit as it had been cooperating fully with the attorney general's office, and that the company would defend itself. He said, "We are proud of the career and technical education that our 15,000 employees provide to more than 80,000 students in the United States and Canada."
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