2019 Attorneys of the Year: Minnesota Attorney General’s Office prosecution of Minnesota School of Business/Globe University for fraud

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office prosecution of Minnesota School of Business/Globe University for fraud was a multifaceted case that the prosecutors involved knew would not be simple to tackle.

“We expected it to go on a long time,” said Al Gilbert, the former solicitor general who led a team of 11 lawyers and para­legals in the case.

It was one of the few fraud cases against a for-profit college chain to go to trial. Following an investigation by the AG’s office, the state sued, saying that MSB and Globe falsely mar­keted a criminal justice program to 1,300 students as a way to become a Minnesota police or probation officer, when in fact the schools’ program did not qualify graduates for those pro­fessions.

During a 17-day trial, the court found in the state’s favor, saying that it showed the pervasiveness of the schools’ false and deceptive practices.

“The AG met with complainants and developed a case,” said Gilbert. “We thought the students were not treated right and were entitled to substantial relief.”

During litigation it also came to light that the schools made 18% interest loans to students when they ran out of financial aid. The state amended its lawsuit to include violations of usury and lender-licensing laws. The loans were held to be illegal and $3.5 million in refunds of interest payments were ordered. The court also said that the state could seek refunds for payments toward principal, along with prejudgment interest and penal­ties.

It was a very important case with a lot of moving parts,” said Gilbert. “We had a great team of lawyers and paralegals. I was confident we could get the job done.”

Read more about Minnesota Lawyer’s superb class of Attorneys of the Year for 2019 here.

Gain access to all of our great content with a month-to-month subscription. Start your subscription here.