McCollum
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal NewsLine) - Attorney General Bill McCollum has sued a Marathon Internet medical education company for allegedly misrepresenting the quality of training it provides to nurses. McCollum filed suit Thursday in the circuit court of the 17th Judicial Circuit for Broward County against American Medical Education, which operates as Medceu.com The company is owned by Mark Freedman and Faith Freedman. Medceu is an Internet provider of Web-based continuing education credits for nurses. On its website, MedCEU claims that it "is licensed to provide continuing education courses for nurses (including most advanced certification other than CRNA) and most other Allied Health Professionals." The company also implies that the courses it offers are approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a national credential provider. Medceu also claims that its courses are "available for use in virtually all states and the District of Columbia." The attorney general's suit charges the company with deceptive and unfair trade practices. Despite the company claims, only about 10 states accept CEUs from Medceu, the suit alleges. McCollum also claims that the company "induces" clients to charge two years' worth of classes and then uses their credit card numbers to make unauthorized charges. While Medceu asserts that its courses meet ANCC standards for educational materials, it does not verify the licenses or education of its instructors, the suit further claims. The ANCC website posts a "MedCEU alert" that states "Please be aware the organization MedCEU is neither accredited by ANCC nor approved through any of the ANCC providers." Calls to the telephone number listed on the website were not immediately returned. Reporter Melvin Baker may be contacted at melvin.baker@gmail.com