Court Orders Notice Provided To
Belford High School Class Members

In January 2012, a federal district judge certified the case against Belford High School as a class action on behalf of "all persons who reside in the United States and who obtained a Belford High School diploma at any time from January 1, 2003 to the present." On April 6, 2012, the judge ordered that notice be given to all potential class members. You may access a copy of the court-ordered Class Notice here.

 

Lawsuit Against Belford Certified As A Class Action

A federal district judge certified the case against Belford High School as a class action in an Opinion and Order issued on January 23, 2012.  The Order, a copy of which can be reviewed here, certified the case as a class action on behalf of "all persons who reside in the United States and who have obtained a Belford High School diploma at any time from January 1, 2003 to present."  The ruling also appointed The Googasian Firm, P.C. as class counsel.  If you are a person who resided in the United States and who obtained a Belford High School diploma at any time from January 1, 2003 to present, you may complete a contact form to communicate further with Class Counsel regarding the case by clicking here.

During the briefing of the motion for class certification, Belford High School was represented by The Miller Law Firm of Rochester Hills, Michigan; after the conclusion of the briefing, The Miller Law Firm withdrew as counsel to Belford High School.

 

On November 5, 2009, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in Detroit alleging that Belford High School is an internet scam that defrauds students of their money. The lawsuit alleges that Belford High School takes students’ money by offering them a “valid” and “accredited” high school diploma, but that Belford High School is not accredited and that the “diplomas” are not valid. The lawsuit alleges that the two accrediting agencies by which Belford High School claims to be accredited – the International Accreditation Agency For Online Universities (IAAOU) and the Universal Council For Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA) – are not legitimate accrediting agencies. The lawsuit alleges that IAAOU and UCOEA are not recognized by the United States Department of Education and that they are sham organizations set up solely to make Belford High School look like a legitimate school when, in fact, the school actually has no authority to issue valid high school diplomas.

If you have a concern about experiences with Belford, click here to share these concerns.

A copy of the Third Amended Complaint, which alleges claims for fraud, breach of contract, and violations of a federal statute, the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act (known as RICO), can be found by clicking here. In the lawsuit, students are asking the federal district court to order Belford High School, IAAOU and UCOEA, along with Education Services Provider, Inc. to pay them damages. The filing asks the Court to award treble (three times) damages for the violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and requests that the Court order the websites www.belfordhighschool.com,  and www.belforduniversity.org to be shut down. The lawsuit was filed by The Googasian Firm, P.C., who are representing victims of the alleged scam.  Belford High School was represented by the Miller Law Firm, P.C. of Rochester Hills, Michigan


In an Order, a federal judge ruled that The Googasian Firm could provide information about the lawsuit to the operators of Belford High School via the "live chat" feature on the Defendants' websites and other means.  A copy of the Order can be found here.  In another Order, a federal judge denied Belford High School's request that this website be disabled.  A copy of the Order can be found here.  In another Order, a federal judge decided that the Belford High School can be sued in the federal court in Detroit, allowing this case to proceed there.  A copy of the Order can be found here. During the course of the litigation, Belford has admitted that it has no physical campus or building. It has also admitted that it no longer has a reasonable basis to rely on accreditation certificates purportedly issued by IAAOU and UCOEA. Belford also has stated that "it no longer has a reasonable basis to continue to deny Plaintiffs' allegations that Belford is not accredited." Belford also has stated that "it no longer has a reasonable basis to continue to deny that so-called 'honorary faculty' are fictitious people," including "Melville P. Crowe," the purported President of Belford High School, "Dan Robertson," the purported Superintendent of Belford High School, Sydney Goldstein, the purported Administration Head of Belford High School, William J. McTiemen, the purported Registrar of Belford High School, and Ken Calvert, the purported Secretary of Belford High School.

Belford has further stated that Salem Kureshi owns, operates and controls Belford through an entity called Organization for Global Learning Education. Mr. Kureshi has testified that he operates Belford out of his apartment in Karachi, Pakistan. Mr. Kureshi also has testified that Belford has no employees.

In July 2011, Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification in the action. The motion was granted by the Court on January, 23, 2012.

On October 24, 2011, the Court granted motions, filed by The Miller Law Firm, P.C. and Flood, Lanctot, Connor & Stablein PLLC to withdraw as counsel for Belford. 

On October 27, 2011, the Court sanctioned Belford for denying in the lawsuit that no Belford "school building or campus exists", when Belford now "expressly admits that it does not have a school building or a campus."  A copy of the Order is here.

Pursuant to the Sanctions order, Belford must pay $1,000 to the Court and "shall reimburse Plaintiffs for all reasonable costs and attorney fees in any way connected to Plaintiffs' efforts to disprove the allegations contained at paragraph 86-88 of the amended complaint."

The Googasian Firm, P.C. is a law firm that aims to help those who are victims of unfair, deceptive and abusive practices committed by for-profit schools. If you have concerns about a "high school," trade school, career school, or other "college" or "university," click here to share these concerns with the law firm.

Online "high schools" also have recently been surfacing on the Internet and victimizing people looking to obtain a high school diploma. With promises of worldwide recognition, legitimacy and accreditation, these sites lure in unsuspecting individuals who are simply looking to qualify themselves for the next level of employment or education. Many of their online schools are nothing more than a complete and utter scam, with so-called diplomas being issued by "schools" without any licensing authority from a local, state or federal government. To share your concerns about an online "high school" about which you are familiar, click here.

The Googasian Firm, P.C. investigates and pursues claims against for-profit schools that have misrepresented themselves to students. State and federal laws prohibit unfair and deceptive practices and the issuance of false academic credentials. Some laws also reward whistleblowers who report fraud committed against the government. If you have questions for or want more information about The Googasian Firm, P.C., please call 1-877-540-8333, send an e-mail to belfordlawsuit@googasian.com, visit the firm’s website, www.googasian.com, or complete this online form