Former Corinthian Colleges students plan to file lawsuit against for-profit organization

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. (KABC) -- Thousands of students who attended Corinthian Colleges are taking legal action against the for-profit organization, claiming they were duped into debt.

Corinthian Colleges abruptly shut down dozens of schools across California, which left many students without a place to go.

"I missed special events. I missed birthdays. I missed a lot of stuff because I thought I was bettering my life, and it just made it worse. I'm $41,000 in debt," one former student said, crying.

Everest College in the City of Industry is one of the schools that was shut down last week. The closure of the college system came as a surprise to the 16,000 students.

The company filed for bankruptcy Monday morning. The news came as attorneys representing the students announced plans to take legal action against Corinthian.

Lawyers say students were tricked into taking out federal and private loans for worthless credits.

"What Corinthian did, what those con-artists did, was exploited these students' thirst for education," attorney Mark Rosenbaum said.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris has already filed suit against Corinthian. The students' attorneys hope to intervene in that lawsuit, seeking to have their loan debt discharged.

Some students were days from final exams when they found out about the shutdown. They want their voices heard.

"I have to start at square one again. And all these hours that I spent in school, there's nothing to it," one former student, Isaac Barragan, said.

Lawyers representing the students said they will proceed with legal action as soon as they get more information surrounding Corinthian's bankruptcy filing.

Eyewitness News reached out to Corinthian for comment, but did not hear back.