1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |DOJ Sets FCA Sights on Private-Sector Colleges

DOJ Sets FCA Sights on Private-Sector Colleges

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.05.12

On August 30, the Justice Department intervened and filed an FCA complaint against ATI Enterprises, Inc., which operates private-sector colleges, alleging that ATI knowingly misrepresented its job placement statistics to maintain its state licensure and, thus, its eligibility for federal financial aid, knowingly enrolled under-qualified students, and fraudulently kept students enrolled despite insufficient attendance and poor grades. DOJ's announcement follows other recent high profile cases in the higher education arena, including US ex rel. Oberg v. Ky. Higher Educ. in June (in which the Fourth Circuit considered whether corporate entities created by states to provide higher education financing, accused of making false claims to DOE, were "persons" subject to FCA liability) and Cuccinelli v. Univ. of Va. in March (in which the Virginia Supreme Court held that UVA was not a "person" or "corporation" under the Virginia state-equivalent FCA).

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 03.24.26

California Considering A Massive Expansion of Its Antitrust Laws

Legislative efforts to significantly expand California’s antitrust laws are working their way through the state legislature. The most comprehensive overhaul is Assembly Bill 1776 — the Competition and Opportunity in Markets for a Prosperous, Equitable and Transparent Economy (COMPETE) Act, introduced by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, on March 23, 2026. AB 1776 is modeled closely after draft legislation recommended by the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) in December. AB 1776 would not only significantly expand potential liability for single-firm conduct and monopolization but would also explicitly decouple California antitrust analysis from certain federal standards. Companies doing business in California should pay close attention to AB 1776 because of its potentially dramatic impact, including increased exposure to antitrust litigation and increased compliance costs....