The GI Bill Grift

How Scammers Target Veterans’ Education Benefits

You’ve served your country. You’ve earned your stripes, your salute, and yes, your GI Bill benefits.  It’s time to plan for civilian life. Many veterans look to higher education as the next mission. But just like what your recruiter tells you, not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Among the legitimate schools and training programs are scammers looking to cash in on your hard-earned benefits.

Let’s look at how GI Bill scams work, who’s running them, and how you can stay clear of the nonsense and get the education you deserve.

The GI Bill: A Solid Deal… Most of the Time

First, let’s give the GI Bill its due. It’s a fantastic benefit. The Post-9/11 GI Bill covers up to 100% of tuition at public universities, gives you a housing stipend, and even throws in some money for books. It is an excellent benefit for service members and for many, a ticket out of poverty.

But here’s the rub: where there’s government money, there are people trying to get their hands on it. And unfortunately, some of those people couldn’t care less about your education, career goals, or success. They want the check and they want it now.

How the Scams Go Down

Think of GI Bill scams like a bad date: it starts with big promises, smooth talk, and a nice website—and ends with disappointment, lost money, and possibly a degree that’s not

worth the paper it is printed upon.

Scams primarily come from two types of institutions.

1. Diploma/Accreditation Mills – Any institution trying to sell you a degree on “life experience” and/or lacking formal accreditation is a “diploma mill”. Controversially, many of these scam institutions pose as Bible colleges to try and make their scam tax free. Saint Regis University, Columbia State University, and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA) are all examples of infamous diploma/accreditation mills. The names of diploma mills often sound close to real universities.

2. For Profit Schools – The mid-2000s and 2010s saw a massive rise in for profit schools. In 1998 an estimated 2% of colleges were for profit. By 2010 it was 13%. Originally these institutions provided online correspondence and utilized aggressive marketing never seen in higher education before. University of Phoenix, DeVry, ITT Tech, and Corinthian College became household names. All four have been sued or penalized (all for more than $100M+) for practices that included exploiting GI Bill benefits, often alongside broader deceptive marketing or fraudulent recruitment practices. The prices of classes are usually the maximum the GI Bill and student loans will pay. Local community colleges are almost universally a better route.

The “Patriotic” Pitch

Scammers (or shady for-profit schools) know how to push the right buttons. Their ads are full of flags, eagles, and stock photos of smiling people in uniform. They’ll throw in phrases like “military-friendly,” “veteran success,” or even name-drop the VA—though they’re not actually affiliated. These schools might call you, email you, or show up in your Facebook feed.

Garbage Education (If Any at All)

Once you’re in, you might discover the whole thing is about as real as a Hollywood set. The classes are poorly run (or barely exist), the instructors are unqualified, and the material is outdated. Yet, they are charging you the maximum your GI Bill will pay for. In some cases, there’s no real school at all—just a website and a shell company soaking up tuition payments. Degrees from unaccredited institutions are worthless.

Bye-Bye Benefits, Hello Debt

The GI Bill pays schools directly. So, while you think you’re investing in your future, your benefits are being drained. If you try to transfer credits to a real school? Surprise! They’re not accepted. That means you may have to start over—without your full benefits—and possibly with loans to pay back.

Real Stories, Real Headaches

This isn’t just a “what if.” Veterans have been burned. Big-time. These two institutions targeted veterans and lower income folks that were struggling to find a way out of poverty.  Remember Corinthian Colleges? They ran a huge network of schools, made big promises, and were eventually busted for flat-out lying about job placement rates. Thousands of veterans lost their benefits and got nothing in return but headaches and paperwork.

TheDepartment of Education had to issue $5.8 billion in loan forgiveness for 560,000 students defrauded by Corinthian.  Or how about ITT Tech?  Same story: aggressive recruiting, misleading info, then boom—closed doors and vanishing credits. Thousands of students were left with GI Bill funds spent and no way forward. The Department of Education approved over $3.9 billion in student loan forgiveness for former ITT students, citing pervasive fraud.

I’m Living Proof

I am the alumni of two for profit colleges. I used tuition assistance. Both were regionally accredited and legitimate institutions, but with today’s remote options your community college is almost certainly a better route for much less money.

Why Are Veterans Prime Targets?

You might be wondering: “Why me?” Well, scammers love veterans for a few reasons:

• Your benefits are guaranteed. That’s reliable money coming from Uncle Sam.

• You trust systems and official-looking stuff. That discipline and respect for authority? Scammers bank on it.

• You’re making a major life transition. That means you’re busy, maybe even a little overwhelmed, and likely to appreciate something that looks less complicated. I had to take correspondence courses when I was deployed to Iraq for my Bachelor of Science degree.

• Institutions know they can own you with debt. Not paying your debts is a certain way to be booted from the military. It is a certain way to lose a clearance. I have seen debt collectors call a Soldier’s unit. Basically, if these institutions had a dartboard, veterans would be the bullseye.

So What’s the Government Doing About It?

The VA, Department of Education, and FTC are trying to play defense. There’s the GI Bill Comparison Tool, which helps you research schools. Some laws, like the “Forever GI Bill,” aim to protect your benefits if a school shuts down. Other policies crack down on misleading ads and shady recruiting.  But let’s be honest: scammers are slippery. They rebrand, rebuild, and reload fast. That means you need to stay sharp.

How to Avoid the Grift

Let’s run through a quick checklist to keep you out of harm’s way and in a classroom (or training program) that actually helps you reach your goals.

1. Use the VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool.

This free resource tells you how a school stacks up: graduation rates, complaints, and whether it’s worth your time. Use it.

2. Verify Accreditation

Check if the school is regionally or nationally accredited by a legit agency. No accreditation = no bueno. Remember – in most cases, regional accreditation is considered better and more widely respected than national accreditation—especially in terms of academic credibility, credit transfer, and long-term degree value.

3. Watch Out for Pressure

If someone’s pushing you to “enroll now” or making guarantees like “you’ll be working in six months,” take a step back. That’s sales talk, not school talk. Some of these schools have utilized high pressure sales tactics negging students using “pain points”.  Sales tactics tell you all know need to know about the institution.

4. Ask Questions

Be that person. Ask about credit transfers, job placement, teacher qualifications, refund policies, and how long they’ve been around. A common issue with these schools is their administrative fees they don’t talk about in their marketing. If they get defensive or cagey?  Run.

5. Do a Little Recon

Look up reviews from other vets, check out the Better Business Bureau, and visit Veterans Education Success. If something smells fishy, it probably is.

In Conclusion: Don’t Let the Bad Guys Win

You earned your GI Bill. Whether you want to be a welder, a nurse, a coder, or a historian— those benefits are yours to build your next chapter. Don’t let someone else write it for you with invisible ink and empty promises.

Stay skeptical, do your homework, and don’t be afraid to say “no thanks” to anything that sounds too good to be true. Your service deserves better than that.

And hey—if you’re ever unsure, reach out to a real veteran support organization before you commit. The classroom should be where you sharpen your mind, not get taken for a ride.