Olivet University target of AG Bonta complaint that could shut down the California-based Christian college

Amid a federal investigation into money laundering, labor trafficking and fraud at Olivet University, state Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs that could shutter the Anza-based Christian college.

The complaint, or “accusation” as it is called in official terms, was filed by Bonta on March 17 on behalf of Deborah Cochrane, chief of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. It alleges 14 violations of state education regulations found during unannounced site visits to Olivet’s main campus in Anza and a satellite campus in Mill Valley, near San Francisco, on Nov. 15 and Jan. 31, respectively.

DCA spokesperson Monica Vargas said in an email Wednesday, March 29, that an accusation initiates a hearing to determine whether an institution’s approval to operate should be revoked, suspended, limited or conditioned.

“The approval to operate remains in place pending the outcome of the proceedings,” Vargas said.

Cochrane is asking the Department of Consumer Affairs to either revoke or suspend Olivet’s approval to operate and order the university to pay the BPPE for the costs of its investigation and enforcement of the case, according to the complaint.

Olivet President Matthias Gebhardt did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Investigations

The postsecondary education bureau is a division of the Department of Consumer Affairs, but the Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday did not immediately respond to the question as to why it had filed the accusation on behalf of the BPPE.

Nor did Bonta’s office immediately say whether it was building a criminal or civil case of its own against Olivet in conjunction with a federal investigation of the embattled university that kicked off in 2019 by Homeland Security Investigations in partnership with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office.

In April 2021, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations and Riverside County sheriff’s and district attorney’s investigators served a search warrant at Olivet. The warrant remains under seal, and the government has not disclosed any additional information since then. The focus of the probe reportedly has been fraud, money laundering and labor trafficking.

In April 2022, a former senior DHS official who was briefed on the case told Newsweek that federal agents were looking for any evidence of “force, fraud or coercion” in relation to international students, primarily ones from China and South Korea.

BPPE Anza visit

During BPPE’ unannounced site visit at Olivet in Anza, investigators were blocked from entering the 1,000-acre campus by an electronic gate, according to the complaint. After unsuccessfully trying to contact someone from the university by telephone, the investigators had to follow another vehicle inside that had accessed the gate, the complaint says.

Once inside, the investigators tracked down Gebhardt, asking first for copies of student files and a copy of a specific class syllabus. Gebhardt requested additional time to compile the student files, but did provide them. He did not, however, provide a copy of the class syllabus during the visits, according to the complaint.

Investigators then observed a microeconomics class underway, noticing that while students were present in class, the instructor was conducting the course via a live stream platform.

Mill Valley visit

At their surprise visit to Olivet’s campus in Mill Valley, BPPE officials requested copies of the faculty list, a campus map, course offerings for the winter 2023 term, a list of enrolled students and the faculty handbook.

Investigators requested to see student performance facts sheets for 2020 and 2021, but they were not readily made available. A staff member told them Gebhardt would provide the information by Feb. 3. But by Feb. 8, the investigators still had not received the information, and again requested the data, which was provided the following day, according to the complaint.

Alleged violations

A senior education specialist for the BPPE ticked off more than a dozen findings from the unannounced campus visits that were noted in the complaint, including:

• Faulty records contained expired contracts or did not document which course(s) the faculty member was to instruct.
• Insufficient faculty members to support the number of programs offered by the institution.
• Insufficient number of faculty to satisfy undergraduate degree requirements.
• Insufficient faculty to offer graduate degrees.
• Inadequate staffing to produce documents requested in a timely fashion.
• Inappropriately merged classes.
• Two of three class sessions observed during the Anza site visit in November consisted of professors livestreaming via Zoom to students in the classroom, where a faculty member was not present

Among the 14 violations of the California Code of Regulations alleged in the complaint were insufficient course offerings, misrepresentation of method of instruction, faculty not meeting minimum education requirements, failure to demonstrate possession of sufficient financial resources and insufficient administrative staff.

Additionally, during the BPPE inquiry, Olivet failed to provide documentation of student withdrawal requests or proof of a refund for students listed on the withdrawn student list, according to the complaint.