The state of California is suing a for-profit college, charging the company with advertising educational programs that do not actually exist for radiologic technologists and other professions.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris has filed suit against Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges (CCI), alleging the for-profit institution of "false and predatory advertising, intentional misrepresentation to students, securities fraud, and unlawful use of military seals," according to a press release from the attorney general's office.
Among the many complaints included in the suit, CCI is alleged to have run millions of online and mobile advertisements touting technician training programs in ultrasound, x-ray, radiology, and dialysis at its California campuses -- when, in fact, the institution does not offer any of these programs, the release states. CCI's call center agents are disciplined if they tell callers that CCI does not offer these programs.
Corinthian Colleges operates 24 Everest, Heald, and WyoTech campuses in California; 111 campuses total in North America; and three online programs. Among the approximately 81,000 students attending CCI colleges, 33% are in California, according to the attorney general's office. The average tuition for a CCI associate's degree is $40,000 and the average tuition for an online CCI associate's degree is $34,000. The average tuition for CCI's nondegree healthcare programs is $17,000.
According to the complaint, CCI's "predatory" marketing efforts specifically target vulnerable, low-income job seekers and single parents who have annual incomes near the federal poverty line, the release states. An internal CCI document obtained by the Department of Justice describes the firm's target demographic as "isolated," "impatient" individuals with "low self-esteem," who have "few people in their lives who care about them" and who are "stuck" and "unable to see and plan well for future."
The complaint also alleges that CCI committed securities fraud by misrepresenting its nationwide job placement rate to investors.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
