The Justice Department announced today that NH Learning Solutions Corp. (NHLS) has agreed to pay $975,000 to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for inflated educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill). The United States filed suit against NHLS under the False Claims Act (FCA) in December 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Detroit-based NHLS provided technology-focused, non-college degree programs at locations across the Midwest and Northeast.
“The Post-9/11 GI Bill was designed to support the educational needs of our veterans, not to permit schools to illegally profit at the expense of the American taxpayers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement shows that the Justice Department will hold schools accountable for violating program requirements and submitting inflated claims for payment.”
“The Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits are part of our nation’s promise to the brave men and women who have served our country,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan. “My office is committed to protecting the integrity of our federal programs to ensure the assistance reaches the intended beneficiaries.”
“Safeguarding Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit funds reserved for deserving veterans remains a priority, and our investigators are working diligently in the field to ensure these programs are not exploited for financial gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley of the VA’s Office of Inspector General (VA OIG)’s Central Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the Justice Department for its efforts in this investigation.”
Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the VA pays tuition and fees directly to qualifying schools on behalf of enrolled students. For veteran students properly enrolled in a course, the VA pays the actual net cost for tuition and fees charged by the school, after it has applied any scholarships, waivers, grants or other assistance designed to defray the cost of tuition and fees, which is known as the “last payer rule.” The rule ensures that the VA is the payer of last resort and receives the benefit of any tuition-based, financial support available to a student.
The government’s amended complaint alleged that NHLS knowingly submitted false claims for inflated tuition and fees, in violation of the last payer rule, at five NHLS locations in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. More specifically, the government alleged that NHLS repeatedly reported tuition and fees to the VA on student invoices, where it failed to deduct the tuition scholarships, grants or waivers it provided to certain veterans, thereby causing the VA to overpay NHLS for educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 GI-Bill for these veterans.
The lawsuit is captioned United States v. NH Learning Solutions Corp. No. 2:22-cv-13045 (EDMI). The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with substantive assistance from VA OIG.
Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Wilson of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony C. Gentner for the Eastern District of Michigan handled the matter.
The claims asserted against defendant are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.