Higher Education Disputes & Investigations

Comprehensive investigative and financial consulting services.

BRG’s Higher Education Investigations practice provides comprehensive investigative and financial consulting services to both public and proprietary post-secondary schools.

What We Do

BRG professionals advise educational clients in traversing a unique regulatory environment by providing the following services:

• Student loan and account reviews
• Graduate outcome and class-profile reporting assessments and audits
• Incentive compensation analysis
• Sponsored research, grants, and contracts compliance advisory
• Forensic accounting
• Statistical analysis
• eDiscovery services
• Computer forensics
• Compliance reviews

Who We Are

The BRG investigative team consists of former state and federal prosecutors, lawyers with deep experience in education law and compliance, technology experts, CPAs, former Big Four auditing partners, former university officials and prominent academics, Certified Fraud Examiners, and seasoned private investigators.

Projects conducted by BRG investigative team members have included*:

• Investigated qui tam and whistleblower claims alleging fraudulent graduate outcome and class-profile reporting.
• Investigated claims that false financial information was submitted to accrediting organizations and governmental bodies.
• Served as outside consultant providing forensic accounting and technology support to a chain of schools under investigation by the Department of Justice and Department of Education for alleged misuse of money awarded to the schools from the Universal Access Fund for internet connectivity projects.
• Investigated claims of embezzlement and other fraud charges against the former director of budget and finance at an educational publishing and software company.
• Investigated a shortfall in the type and amount of collateral supporting securitized student-loan financing facilities.
• Served as a consulting expert for a for-profit tutoring company whose executives were indicted on charges that they allegedly bribed school officials and submitted false billing and student progress reports. The assignment involved statistical analysis and review of all accounting, billing, and program records.
• Advised a for-profit educational entity with its response to a governmental investigation and U.S. Senate Committee Document Request. Work included leading a team of more than 35 professionals to obtain electronic and hard-copy information relating to student loan records, payment records, application processes, and other documents.
• Investigated allegations of campus sexual harassment charges. As part of the investigation, captured school-sponsored and select student social media postings from Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

* Some engagements took place prior to an expert joining BRG.