A securities class action suit was filed against a for-profit education corporation following allegations that failed to disclose certain information and release potentially false or misleading statements.
The lawsuit against DeVry Education Group Inc. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of investors who purchased stock in the company during the class period between Feb. 4, 2011 through Jan. 27, 2016, according to a press release. DeVry provides educational services at locations worldwide through subsidiaries such as DeVry University.
“The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against DeVry.”
The class action filing claims that DeVry University for years ran a deceitful marketing operation, a press release explained. These deceptive advertisements for example allegedly exaggerated students’ ability to find jobs after graduation. In addition, the marketing campaign also inflated former students’ income, the class action suit claimed.
On Jan. 27, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against DeVry, according to a press release. The FTC claimed that the education corporation misled people about post-graduation prospects and utilized unreliable advertising campaigns. Specifically, the agency alleged that DeVry’s public assertions that 90 percent of graduates found jobs within their fields six months at the most after finishing school.The lawsuit also alleged that the university overstated its revenue, growth and earnings potential to investors. The class action complaint claims that as a result, the company’s operations, prospects and business “lacked reasonable basis” through the class period.
On news of the lawsuit, stock in DeVry fell $3.65 per share, or 15.37 percent, from its closing price of $23.74 on Jan. 26 to close at $20.09 per share the next day.
For more information on this case or other class action litigations, please contact Kevin Doyle, Senior Vice President, at 203-987-4949 or info@battea.com.