Gaining an education requires considerable discipline and in some cases, an investment in hard earned cash. Belford High School promised a quality education, but in a recent class action settlement, it appears the high school was merely a ghost of the education system.
The Belford High School class action lawsuit filed on November 5, 2009 alleges the school orchestrated an Internet scam that caused the parents of prospective students to lose money. Primary plaintiff in the class action lawsuit claim Bedford High School falsely claimed it offered a valid” and “accredited” high school diploma. The plaintiffs assert that Bedford High School diplomas are fraudulent because the school is nothing more than a money milking scam.
Bedford claimed to have received accreditation from the International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation, but plaintiffs allege the organizations to be fraudulent as well. In a class action settlement, Bedford High School has agreed to pay more than 30,000 victims of the scam from a pool that exceeds $22 million. Bedford High School has admitted to not employing any faculty and administrators, which prompted the judge to decree the substantial award amount
According to the class action settlement website www.BelfordClassAction.com, Bedford High School is also required to refrain from using the scam websites www.BelfordHighSchool.com, www.BelfordHighSchool.org, www.BelfordUniversity.org, and www.BelfordUniversity.com to recruit new students. We have learned the websites no longer exist in cyberspace.
The defendants in the class action lawsuit settled the case to avoid the costs of drawn out litigation.
What You Need to Know
The class action settlement website mentions that class members of the settlement “include U.S. residents who obtained a Belford High School diploma at any time from Jan. 1, 2003 to Jan. 23, 2012.” The potential award varies depending on the number of eligible class members who file valid and timely claim forms, as well as the amount each class member spent to enroll in the fake high school. Class members must present class administrators with either a copy of the fake Bedford High School diploma or an explanation as to why they cannot submit a copy of the fake diploma.
The deadline for filing a valid claim form is June 12, 2017. Going by the case name Lauber, et al. v. Belford High School, et al., Case No. 4:09-cv-14345, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the class action settlement has a final hearing scheduled for July 7, 2017. Class counsel includes Thomas Howlett and Dean Googasian, who represent the law firm The Googasian Firm PC. Defense counsel Todd Holleman comes from the law firm Miller Canfield.
