About

Online Education Fraud: The Diary of a Short Seller is a riveting and timely read. It is a well-researched look behind the curtain of “too big to fail” for-profit education companies. Readers will discover the level of dishonesty of the industry and see just how little care is given to students when there is money to be made from the grant program. Online Education Fraud covers the legal and regulatory history of the for-profit colleges and the events that led to the fall of share prices across the sector.

The book recounts part of my 20 year career in the investment business.  I spent 15 years hunting and exposing fraud at for-profit schools, primarily University of Phoenix (UOP).  There are new books on the market talking about the student loan bubble, which has become newsworthy recently, and a book or two about online fraud.  My book is unique because I was very active in participating in the downfall of the industry.  As you’ll read, I went from analyst to activist and a highly aggressive one at that.  The book is sizzling with controversy and evidence of fraud.  I have tape recorded interviews with former employees alleging fraud.  I met with SEC investigators, DOJ investigators, and several other senior officials.  I was quoted in several major newspapers, recognized as an expert.  The book is also a good teaching tool for those interested in the stock market.  

The book starts in 1998 with Computer Learning Centers (CLCX).  The company was caught violating federal rules around a ban on commission sales.  Using my evidence, the government raided the headquarters finding large quantities of documentation detailing the massive fraud.  The company was caught shredding documents before investigators arrived.  The Dept. of Education put them out of business by imposing a large fine.  The second section of the book covers the history between 2001 and 2008.  This section shows fraud at other schools and the evolution of government’s policy of enforcement or lack thereof.  The rest of the book covers the 2009/2010 period in which one ambitious Department of Education employee and I teamed up to hunt the sector.  The questions we raised and the evidence we found often fell on deaf ears.  Finally, in 2009 Obama appointed an Undersecretary of Education who knew about the fraud.  He went after the industry, nearly destroying it.

“Rob MacArthur's book does an excellent job saying things that our Government should be saying, but will not do so due to the power of campaign contributions.” -- Dan Bartley, Attorney at Law

“Rob MacArthur virtually alone crusaded against a massive government-supported corporate scam in our college system…Online Education Fraud is the story of a little known stock analyst who embarked on more than a decade of forensic research and advocacy, taking on and exposing the greed of an industry…” --Parker Quillen, institutional investor

“Had it not been for MacArthur's tenacity, especially in his pursuit of Apollo Education, you can't help wonder if the fraud would still be going on today.”--Herb Greenberg, journalist

“After CLCX, and throughout the 2000's momentum managers realized the for-profit sector's earnings were based on false information and bad business practices.  Rob was way out in front of the data inflection…”--Steve McNally, President, SRM Capital Management