DeWine
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced on Thursday that he has filed a lawsuit against a school and its founder for allegedly misrepresenting the value of degrees that were available to students.
Community of Faith Christian School and Jeffrey Sanders, its owner, allegedly violated the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act by entering into transactions whereby consumers could not benefit. It allegdly did this by misrepresenting its services and knowingly making misleading statements.
"The company sold degree programs through its business location and online and made false promises that students could use the degrees to gain entrance to community colleges," DeWine said. "Although the attorney general's office made multiple attempts to resolve the issues out of court, the company refused to cooperate."
More than 30 complaints about Community of Faith have been filed with the attorney general's office since April 2008. The complaints allege that consumers spent anywhere from $250 to $550 to obtain a degree from the school, but the diplomas did not represent what was promised. This mostly involved the diplomas not being accepted at community colleges, DeWine says.
DeWine is seeking a permanent injunction against the school, restitution for consumers and a civil penalty in the amount of $25,000 for each violation.