NetChoice Vice President and General Counsel Carl Szabo discusses the Biden administration's latest move to gain more control over American companies on The Big Money Show.
The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that it has sued Grand Canyon University (GCU), becoming the second agency under the Biden administration to take action against the nation's largest Christian school in recent months, according to the school is a coordinated attack by multiple authorities against the institution.
The FTC said in a news release that it has filed a lawsuit in federal court against GCU, its marketer Grand Canyon Education, Inc., and its president and CEO Brian Mueller, alleging that the defendants engaged in deceptive advertising and illegal telemarketing.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a business event at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. Biden's FTC is suing GCU after its DOE fined the school $37.7 million over false advertising allegations… (Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The complaint alleges that the Arizona-based school misled prospective graduate students about the time it would take to complete its accelerated program, falsely marketed the school as a nonprofit organization and illegally called prospective students seeking their contact information entered on the school's website but asked not to be contacted.
“Grand Canyon deceived students by portraying itself as a nonprofit institution and misrepresenting the cost and number of courses required to obtain a doctorate degree,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to exploit students.”
Democrats oppose Biden's SEC chair over increased regulation
The lawsuit accuses GCU of violating the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rules and asks the U.S. District Court in Arizona to compel GCU to compensate consumers for the alleged violations and to prohibit the university from “further violating the law.”
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan speaks during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Washington, DC, USA. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
A GCU spokesperson did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment on the lawsuit, but President Mueller told FOX News Digital in late October that he believes the university is being unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, and said multiple federal agencies were involved in a coordinated attack against the school.
Shortly thereafter, on October 31, the Department of Education fined GCU $37.7 million. An investigation by the Federal Office of Student Aid found that the university had “lied” to over 7,500 former and current students about the cost of their doctoral programs for several years.
American campuses were rocked by numerous anti-Semitic incidents in 2023: “The face of violence and hate”
The DOE said in a news release that GCU “incorrectly” advertised lower costs for its doctoral programs, adding that about 98% of students ended up paying more than the advertised costs.
According to a DOE press release, an investigation conducted by the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) found that GCU “lied” to over 7,500 former and current students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years. (Portal/Evelyn Hockstein / Portal Photos)
Mueller has argued that the federal investigation is related to the Energy Department's denial of GCU's efforts to convert to a nonprofit in 2018. The department disputed GCU's nonprofit status for purposes of federal student financial aid, which continues to classify the school as a for-profit institution.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO by CLICKING HERE
In a news conference last month, Mueller promised that GCU would appeal the DOE's fine – the largest the agency has ever imposed – and said the school was not misleading or deceiving students in any way.
FOX News Digital's Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.