HomeWorkforce BoardDept of EducationCRI Closure
 Civil CaseBankruptcy LegislativeCriminal
Financial AidNew LawBlog
info@crisaga.info

Students who learned of the miniscule graduation rates through the most recent WTECB findings and the fact that WTECB had refused to renew their license to teach court reporting contacted a Seattle Times reporter, Emily Heffter, and on March 29, 2006, her first article about CRI was published in the Seattle Times.  Many stunned students came forward to say they had not known their prospects for becoming court reporters were so slim at CRI.  In an attempt to do damage control, CRI called emergency meetings at the Seattle campus and continued to deny there were problems.  These are the notes of a student who attended that meeting.

 

On August 23, 2006, CRI withdrew their appeal of the non-renewal of their court reporting license.   One week later, as reported in the press, CRI abruptly announced the closure of all four schools in Washington, Idaho and California, telling Attorney General Terry Ryan (who defended the Workforce Board's decision to not re-license them) they would be filing for bankruptcy.  For nearly three months, Alen Janisch and some CRI employees continued to occupy the Seattle building.  They allegedly openly sold equipment out of the schools. 

 

Students were told by Terry Ryan, Assistant Attorney General, that CRI said they were closing because of declining enrollment after the article in the Seattle Times and they were having lots of financial problems.  He also said there was a letter laying on the desk at the Department of Education demanding CRI pay back federal funds, though that document was not shared with students. The amount of federal grant money alone received by CRI was significant, as found on the internet in this government report.

 

Students who were still attending any of the schools when they closed, or within 90 days of closing are eligible to apply to the Dept of Education for loan forgiveness.  But there are many, many students who are not eligible to have their loans forgiven though they suffered the same fraud, albeit not within the same recent timeframe.  However, when you look at the statistics, it appears there was never any intention to educate students.  CRI was merely a vessel for making money - part of a business plan.  Students are still shouldering staggering amounts of student loan debt that many will be paying until they are well into their 70's because of attendance at CRI and the fact that student loans can be discharged in bankruptcy.