Why Fortis College Should Worry You 
And Why You Should Too

If you attended Fortis College (or Fortis Institute), you're not alone in questioning whether you were misled or defrauded. In the world of Borrower Defense to Repayment (BDR), Fortis has a history that raises serious red flags — red flags that may help your claim.

Fortis is a private for‑profit chain of colleges and institutes—part of the Education Affiliates (EA) network, backed by JLL Partners. Over the years, it has grown rapidly through acquisitions of other for‑profit schools. 

What’s troubling is that Fortis (via EA) has already settled allegations of misconduct at multiple campuses. Those settlements show possible patterns of fraud, misrepresentation, and violations of federal law — exactly the type of evidence a strong Borrower Defense claim relies upon.

Below is a breakdown of key cases, legal problems, and warning signs that support why a former Fortis student should seriously consider filing a BDR claim.

Major Legal and Investigative Exposures Facing Fortis / Education Affiliates

$13 Million Settlement of False Claims Act Allegations

One of the most potent pieces of evidence:

• In 2015, Education Affiliates, the corporate parent of Fortis, agreed to a $13 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act.  
• The DOJ alleged that EA (and its Fortis campuses) had submitted false claims for federal student aid by:
• Accepting invalid high school diplomas (from “diploma mills”) to qualify students for federal aid. 
• Altering admissions test results to qualify otherwise ineligible individuals. 
• Incentivizing enrollment by compensating admissions counselors based on recruitment numbers, regardless of student eligibility. 
• Misrepresenting graduation and job placement rates, altering attendance records, and enrolling unqualified students. 

Although EA (and Fortis) denied liability, the settlement is an official record that the government considered the allegations serious enough to pay a large sum rather than litigate fully. 

This kind of behavior is highly relevant to a Borrower Defense claim: it demonstrates institutional practices of misrepresentation and fraud against federal aid rules.

Allegations in “Ex rel. Atkins, et al. v. Fortis Institute / EA”

• That same settlement included whistleblower lawsuits premised on Fortis Institute’s misconduct (e.g. U.S. ex rel. Atkins et al. v. Fortis Institute & EA, NC). 
• In filings (e.g. state-level testimony), the allegations tied Fortis’s parent to the same misconduct: false academic credentials, recruitment of ineligible students, deceptive enrollment practices, etc. 

Even though those particular claims were resolved in settlement, the presence of whistleblower actions may yield evidence (e.g. internal documents, depositions) useful to individual BDR applications.

Scrutiny of Specific Campuses — Accreditation & Federal Aid Risk

• The Erie, Pennsylvania campus of Fortis Institute was reported (2018) to be under review for possible suspension of federal accreditation.
• As a for‑profit institution, Fortis (like many peers) has operated under **“provisional” or temporary participation agreements for federal student aid, especially after ownership changes or financial stress.
• In fact, in changing ownership, Fortis and EA had to secure Temporary Provisional Program Participation Agreements (TPPPAs) to maintain federal aid eligibility while under review.

These situations can imply instability or regulatory risk — both of which strengthen arguments that students may have been misled about the institution’s reliability or capacity to deliver promised outcomes.

Backlog & Number of BDR Claims Already Filed for Fortis

• On a 2021 Department of Education “Closed Borrower Defense” dataset, Fortis College (including Fortis Institute) appears with ~ 320 closed case count and ~ 320 pending applications (as of mid‑2021). 
• In a 2022 FOIA document (“Number of Borrower Defense Claims” by institution), Fortis College is listed with 20 claims in one reporting period. 

In short: many former students have already attempted to hold Fortis accountable. That establishes that BDR claims around Fortis are not hypothetical — they’re very real.

Other Related Legal Complaints / Lawsuits

• In 2016, a lawsuit claimed that a for‑profit school (that included Fortis in its network) stole a student’s identity, and alleged fraud, negligence, and misrepresentation. 
• Because Fortis is deeply tied to EA’s network of nursing schools, trade schools, and career colleges, complaints filed against sister institutions under the same umbrella may provide support by analogy (showing systemwide tendencies).

Why These Issues Matter for Your Borrower Defense Application

If you were a student at Fortis and experienced any of the following, your case becomes stronger:

• You were admitted using a non‑accredited high school diploma or alternative credential
• You were promised strong job placement or salary numbers, but those didn’t materialize
• You were pressured to enroll even without proper academic credentials
• You were misled about the accreditation status or federal aid eligibility of your campus
• You viewed a campus as stable and trustworthy, only to see it lose accreditation or face suspension
• You paid out-of-pocket costs or borrowed extra based on misleading promises

Because Fortis (via EA) has a documented history of alleged misconduct, your claim does not have to rely solely on your individual experience — you can point to institutional evidence and prior government settlements as supporting context.

In fact, under the Sweet v. Cardona class‑action settlement, borrower defense applications tied to schools on the approved list can get full loan discharge and refunds, with eased requirements on evidence. 

Though Fortis is not always explicitly named in that settlement’s list, the legal precedents and structure of that settlement help establish favorable paths for your own application.

You can also compare your situation to other similar schools (e.g. Westwood, DeVry, Corinthian) that have obtained full forgiveness. You’ll find many of those covered in the Latest News section on our site.

How to Move Forward: Two Paths

You have two main strategies: DIY or partner with a legal help service. Either way, the evidence above gives you a strong foundation.

✅ Do It Yourself (DIY)

You can file your own Borrower Defense application at studentaid.gov.

We detail step-by-step what you need in our DIY guide:
➡️DIY Borrower Defense Guide

In your application, be sure to:

• Cite the Fortis / EA settlement and whistleblower actions
• Show documents (emails, catalogs, ads, internal memos) demonstrating misrepresentations
• Explain how the campus or program you attended either lost accreditation, changed ownership, or had instability
• Describe concretely how you were harmed (job outcomes, loan burden, inability to use credits)
• Assert your reliance on the misrepresentations

If your evidence is plausible, the Department of Education must presume you reasonably relied on the misconduct if it’s “stated in the application.” (This presumption is part of the Sweet settlement regime.)

⚖️ Use a Legal / Claims Firm (Like Us)

While DIY is possible, many applicants choose to partner with legal consultants who already know how to frame these claims, gather evidence, correspond with DOE, and monitor timelines. 

We at DefenseClaims.com specifically help clients with BDR claims involving Fortis and hundreds of other schools.

We also have a public list of all schools we cover:
📋All Schools / Universities — DefenseClaims

If you prefer someone to handle paperwork, document requests, appeals, and legal strategy — we can support you from start to finish.

Final Word & Next Steps

If you attended Fortis College (or Fortis Institute) and carried debt, you absolutely deserve to examine whether your loan burden could be canceled. The evidence is on your side — Fortis’s corporate parent settled serious allegations, its campuses have been audited, and many BDR claims have already been filed.

Take one of two paths now:

1. Submit your own claim using the DIY guide
2. Schedule a case review with us so we can help you build the strongest case possible

Don't wait — the clock matters. The more evidence you collect, the stronger your outcome tends to be.

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