WACO, Texas – ELPSS Career Institute LLC, a career school located in Killeen, and its director, Ricky J. Daniels, Jr., were ordered in federal court in Waco on Wednesday, to pay $9,024,886.99 in damages and civil penalties to the United States under the False Claims Act for defrauding the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides financial support to members of the military, veterans, and eligible dependents who enroll in certain education programs. A non-accredited career school such as ELPSS Career Institute must operate for at least two years before it may enroll students receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. This requirement is intended to limit the payment of veterans’ benefits to established courses offered at a reasonable cost by seasoned institutions.
In October 2020, the United States filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas alleging that Daniels had falsely certified to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) that ELPSS Career Institute had been in operation for more than two years in order to obtain approval to enroll Post-9/11 GI Bill students. The United States alleged that Daniels formed ELPSS Career Institute less than a year before applying for approval. According to the United States, Daniels provided student files from an unaffiliated school in El Paso to the TVC when it conducted a site visit to verify the school’s dates of operation.
Following discovery, the United...
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