New York state is suing an Indiana company that allegedly convinced prospective nursing students that it offered nursing programs in New York when it didn't, said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
The state named The College Network and its owner Gary Eyler in the lawsuit filed June. 4.
The complaint alleges the company, which has its headquarters in Indiana, targeted as many as 2,000 students looking to study nursing. The company, through advertisements and high-pressure sales tactics, inferred that it was affiliated with Albany-based Excelsior College and was able to create an impression that it offered online nursing degrees, the suit states.
“Businesses operating in New York must conduct business fairly, and that means not using false and deceptive advertising to take advantage of consumers," Schneiderman said. "As we allege, hard-working New Yorkers–-many of them single moms and immigrants–-were duped into buying expensive, inadequate study materials and access to ‘academic advisers’ who were falsely touted as experts. Businesses that take advantage of people seeking to better their lives and communities deserve especially tough attention from law enforcement, and we will continue working to crack down on this kind of abuse in the education sector.”