Delaware, 8 other states press federal agency for delayed restitution to victims of tech training scam

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and attorneys general from eight other states are demanding answers from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over months-long delays in distributing restitution to victims of a predatory tech sales training program.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the CFPB’s acting director, the multistate coalition expressed frustration with the agency’s unexplained hold-up in delivering $4.2 million in court-ordered restitution to approximately 660 consumers harmed by Prehired LLC.

The company was found guilty in November 2023 of using deceptive and abusive practices to lure students into costly and misleading job training programs.

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The CFPB had announced in May 2024 that it would allocate funds from the Civil Penalty Fund to compensate victims.

The states say they received regular updates through early 2024, but communication ceased in February, with no explanation for the delay.

“Prehired’s victims include consumers from each of our respective states…and nearly every other state in the nation,” the letter reads. “The CFPB committed to provide relief to these consumers when it made the allocation from the Civil Penalty Fund. During these increasingly difficult economic times, hundreds of Americans look to your leadership to deliver on this commitment.”

Prehired, which offered an unlicensed online sales training program, charged students up to $30,000 and falsely guaranteed job placements in tech sales roles paying at least $60,000 a year.

Most students ended up earning far less, while the company aggressively pursued debt collection through lawsuits and arbitration—even against people who had never agreed to such terms.

Delaware played a key role in uncovering the scheme.

Jennings’ Consumer Protection Unit began investigating Prehired in 2022 after the company filed nearly 300 debt collection lawsuits in Delaware courts.

Many defendants lived outside the state and lacked the resources to defend themselves.

The state intervened, prompting Prehired to withdraw the lawsuits and halt its arbitration attempts.

The letter calls on the CFPB to provide a clear timeline for distributing restitution and to explain the cause of the delay.

Joining Delaware in the letter are attorneys general from Washington, Illinois, South Carolina, Oregon, Minnesota, California, North Carolina, and Colorado.