WASHINGTON (AP) – The Education Department is removing a law firm hired to oversee the turnaround of schools owned by Corinthian Colleges Inc.
The financial collapse of the for-profit education company had placed at risk more than $1 billion in federal student loans. The schools now operate mostly under the Everest College brand.
An Associated Press investigation identified conflicts with the ostensibly independent monitor.
The government said it is firing the firm, Hogan Marren Babbo & Rose Ltd. of Chicago. The decision came after the AP reviewed with senior education officials its nine-month investigation examining the Obama administration’s response to Corinthian’s collapse.
The chairman of the firm’s education practice, Charles P. Rose, is declining to discuss his firm’s firing.