Students allege fraud at Tucson College

TUCSON — Imagine earning a degree that you never really earned.

Such is the claim from a group of students who say a leading vocational training school in the Southwest defrauded them by falsely promising them proper training, job placement and transferability of course credit hours, a recent lawsuit claims.

The 25-page class action suit comes from a group of students led by Elena Lopez, who was attending Tucson College, a branch run by companies based in Virginia, California and Arizona. The class includes anyone who was enrolled in classes at any of the companies’ campuses throughout the United States since Jan. 1, 2004.

The group claims dozens of colleges run by Delta Educational Systems, Gryphon Investors and National Career Education Inc. used advertising across all media in Southern Arizona to lure and deceive students into signing education contracts backed by guaranteed student loans in exchange for bogus degrees. The lawsuit cites a recent complaint filed by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard against Tucson College.

The “degree mill” suit focuses on the criminal justice and medical insurance coding programs, though dozens of others are listed. It seeks $10,000 for each class member, plus fees and punitive damages.

Tucson lawyers Andrea E. Watters and Thomas J. Davis are representing the class.