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Lawsuit: Law School Defrauded Taxpayers Out Of $285 Million

Photo courtesy WFAE, Credit: Julie Rose/WFAE

A lawsuit is accusing the Charlotte School of Law of defrauding taxpayers out of $285 million. 

The lawsuit was filed by former professor Barbara Bernier. It says the for-profit school, which closed last week, admitted unqualified students, then manipulated records to keep them enrolled so the college could collect their government-supported tuition. The suit also accuses the school of misrepresenting both the state bar exam scores of their graduates and their success in finding jobs.

The Charlotte Observer reports the complaint was filed in 2016 and became public this month.

The lawsuit reveals that federal prosecutors have been investigating the school for more than a year, although it's unclear how that inquiry is related.

A statement from school spokeswoman Victoria Taylor said the school would "defend itself vigorously against the allegations in the complaint," but had no additional comment.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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