• A University of Florida trustee and other executives are accused of defrauding the government out of millions in federal funding.
• The lawsuit alleges two for-profit schools, the Los Angeles Film School and Full Sail University, falsified graduate employment data to remain eligible for federal aid.
• Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing it is untimely and that the plaintiffs previously signed settlement agreements.

University of Florida Board of Trustees member James W. "Bill" Heavener and several other defendants accused of defrauding the government out of millions of dollars have moved to get the case against them thrown out over procedural technicalities, according to federal documents.

Heavener, in his capacity as partial owner and operator of the Los Angeles Film School (LAFS) and Full Sail University (FS), and other defendants named in the lawsuit motioned to dismiss the case after plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on Oct. 14.

The complaint, filed in 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges LAFS and FS “financed thousands of short-term job placements for their graduates through schemes with non-profits and paid-off vendors” and that they lied to government officials about students’ employment outcomes for over a decade to continue receiving federal funding, a violation of federal law and accrediting standards.

For a school to be eligible for federal financial aid it must meet federal “gainful employment...

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