For-profit trade schools that serve military veterans under the GI Bill have defrauded the federal government of more than $300 million over the past decade, according to an extensive investigation. These institutions have often charged inflated tuition rates for short, rudimentary courses, while providing inadequate training, raising concerns about oversight and quality control within the GI Bill program.

The GI Bill, established near the end of World War II to provide educational benefits to veterans, has helped millions access college and vocational training. Last year, the program funded education for approximately 666,000 veterans and their families, with more than $11 billion spent. While the GI Bill was designed to assist veterans in transitioning to civilian careers, it has also become vulnerable to exploitation by some for-profit trade schools.

One example is the NTI Organic Lawn Care Institute in Amherst, New Hampshire, which taught veterans how to grow grass in a course lasting just five days but billed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nearly $15,000 per student—over three times the rate charged to nonveterans. A VA undercover investigation uncovered that the school charged veterans significantly more than civilians, violating federal rules that require equal tuition. The school also enrolled civilians who paid little or nothing, apparently to meet regulatory enrollment requirements. The institute was shut down in 2019 and its owner reached a civil settlement in 2024 after allegations of fraud.

Another case involved Retail Ready Career Center in Garland, Texas, a school that offered six-week HVAC technician training at tuition rates nearing $20,000. The owner, Jonathan Dean Davis, who had a history of financial difficulties and criminal charges, falsely represented the school’s operating history and finances to state and VA regulators to gain GI Bill approval. The school ultimately received about $72 million from the GI Bill before investigations revealed financial misconduct. Davis was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering in 2021 and sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison, along with a $65 million restitution order. While prosecutors emphasized Davis’s lavish spending on luxury vehicles and a mansion, some veterans testified in his defense, stating the program helped them secure employment.

Experts and veteran advocacy groups point to systemic weaknesses in the GI Bill oversight framework as enabling such fraud. The VA caps annual tuition payments for most private and for-profit schools but does not set minimum course lengths, enabling institutions to charge high sums for brief programs. Moreover, trade schools under the GI Bill are not always required to be accredited, and many have circumvented rules meant to ensure quality training, such as the restrictions on veterans comprising no more than 85 percent of enrollment and charging uniform tuition rates.

Oversight responsibility often falls to state agencies, which sometimes lack sufficient resources to monitor these institutions effectively. VA officials acknowledge these challenges but emphasize recent efforts, including fraud risk scoring tools and a dedicated compliance division, to detect and prevent abuse. Since 2020, the VA inspector general’s office has opened dozens of investigations into suspected education fraud and referred many cases for prosecution.

While some veterans have voiced frustration over inadequate training and wasted benefits, others have had more positive experiences with trade schools. Nonetheless, the breadth of documented cases highlights persistent vulnerabilities in how the GI Bill funds vocational education, prompting calls for strengthened regulations and oversight to better protect veterans and taxpayers alike.