Edmondson Junior College was a two-year proprietary college in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

, that closed in July 1992. It was owned by Phillips College, Inc. As of 1993, Phillips owned and operated approximately 30 career and technical schools in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

During federal fiscal year 1994-1995, six former employees of Edmondson Junior College pled guilty in Federal District Court to one count each of conspiracy

Conspiracy (crime)

In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...

 to defraud

Fraud

In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...

 the United States government in connection with the school's operation. A seventh employee pled guilty to a related charge. The guilty pleas resulted from a U.S. Department of Education investigation that found that Edmondson employees had instructed students to falsify financial aid applications and then had tried to cover up their illegal activities by altering records. One of Edmondson's former directors of admissions received a prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

sentence and was ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution. The other six received lesser sentences.