On June 12, 2024, Student Defense and DiCello Levitt LLP filed a lawsuit against Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (GCE) for orchestrating a deceitful racketeering scheme at Grand Canyon University (GCU).
"GCE propagated false information about the true cost of Grand Canyon University's doctoral programs through its marketing materials, sales representatives, and enrollment applications and agreements," the students allege.
According to the complaint, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, GCE told students that the "estimated tuition" for their doctoral degrees would equal the cost of 60 or 65 credits. But senior GCE executives have known since at least August 2017 that at least 70% of GCU doctoral students would be forced to pay thousands of dollars more for "continuation courses" to obtain their degrees.
The class action suit alleges that GCE defrauded students out of millions of dollars annually in violation of the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (or RICO) Act as well as state consumer protection laws.
In 2023, the United States Department of Education fined GCU $37.7 million after its investigation found that the school "lied to more than 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years," and "GCU falsely advertised a lower cost than what 98% of students ended up paying."
The press release issues after this case was filed is available here.
If you are a current or former Grand Canyon University docotral student or are interested in more information about this lawsuit, please contact us here and let us know about your experience.
News Coverage:
GCU doctoral students are victims of a racketeering scheme, a class action lawsuit alleges | June 12, 2024 | AZ Central
Grand Canyon Education accused of racketeering scheme in new class action | June 13, 2024 | Higher Ed Dive
Students at nation's largest Christian college allege they were duped into enrolling through racketeering scheme | June 13, 2024 | MarketWatch
Doctoral students are suing Grand Canyon University; here's why | June 13, 2024 | KOLD 13 News
Case Documents: