Press Release  AG Campbell Secures $600,000 in Relief From Online For-Profit Audio-Visual Production School

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has secured approximately $600,000 in relief against Recording Radio Film Connection (RRFC), an online for-profit school offering audio and film production courses, resolving allegations that the school violated the AG Office’s For-Profit School Regulations by failing to provide accurate lending and enrollment disclosures to certain students for a period of time beginning in 2016. RRFC students who are eligible for relief under today’s settlement will be contacted by the AG’s Office.

The assurance of discontinuance, filed today in Suffolk Superior Court, requires RRFC to pay $250,000, which will be distributed to students harmed by the school’s alleged illegal practices. In addition, RRFC will discharge approximately $340,000 in institutional debt owed to the school by former students and will seek changes to credit bureau trade lines relating to the debts.

 “For-profit schools need to be up front with potential students about their costs, job placement, and graduation rates, so applicants can make an informed decision on whether or not to take on the cost and debt,” AG Campbell said. “This settlement will help students regain their financial footing and our office will continue to fight to protect our students all across Massachusetts.”

Recording Radio Film Connection is a private for-profit educational corporation offering online programs like Film Production and Editing and Audio and Music Production. Although it does not have a physical location in Massachusetts, in some instances both the RRFC students and the individuals providing them with in-person instruction as part of their programs were located in Massachusetts during such instruction.

Under the AG’s regulations, both brick-and-mortar and online schools are required to disclose – in their advertisements, website and recruitment literature – accurate and readily comparable information about tuition and fees, employment statistics, graduation rates and program completion time.

AG Campbell is committed to being an advocate for student borrowers in Massachusetts. In February, the AG's Office wrote to the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements seeking stronger consumer protections in online education programs. The AG’s Office has taken predatory schools to court, changed the practices of student loan servicers, gone after unlawful student loan “debt relief” companies, and helped student borrowers find more affordable repayment solutions through its first-in-the-nation Student Loan Assistance Unit. The AG’s Office also houses the State’s Student Loan Ombudsman, who advocates for student borrower rights. Massachusetts students who are looking for help or information should call the AG’s Student Loan Assistance Unit Helpline at 1-888-830-6277.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Diana Hooley, Mathematician Burt Feinberg, and Paralegal Katherine Dundes of AG Campbell’s Insurance & Financial Services Division.

###