Washington Consumer Alleges ‘Fraudulent’ Prehired Vocational School ‘Scheme’ Left Her $30K in Debt

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A proposed class action alleges Prehired, LLC has misled potential students as to the cost and benefits of its vocational programs before locking the individuals into unlawful income-sharing agreements.

The 36-page case alleges Prehired, CEO and founder Joshua Jordan and Meratas, Inc., an agent who manages the vocational school’s customer portal, have operated a “scam” that has cost students hundreds or thousands of dollars. The case claims that Prehired is not properly licensed as a private vocational school in Washington and was therefore prohibited from “conduct[ing] business of any kind” or “enter[ing] into any contracts” in the state.

The lawsuit states that Prehired represents itself as a “membership association” whose video-based training programs will help graduates land a full-time sales job at a software company, even without previous experience. Per the case, Prehired’s website guaranteed that “members” would be able to get a job “with zero upfront cost.”

Further, the complaint relays that if a prospective member cannot afford to pay for one of Prehired’s courses, the school allows them to finance their training through an income share agreement (ISA), through which a graduate is required to pay Prehired a certain percentage of their income, exceeding a threshold amount, on a monthly basis. 

The plaintiff, a Spokane, Washington resident who graduated from Prehired’s Science-Based Sales program, alleges the school’s “fraudulent scheme” has left her $30,000 in debt. Per the suit, the plaintiff has already been forced to begin making payments on her ISA with Prehired even though her annual salary has never reached the $40,000 minimum threshold.

The lawsuit looks to void Prehired’s contracts with the plaintiff and other Washington residents who financed their Prehired training program through an unlawful ISA.

According to the case, Prehired violated Washington law by entering into contracts with members in the state without being properly licensed to do so. The suit contends that Prehired is not listed among the private vocational schools that hold up-to-date licenses in Washington, even though it entered into ISAs with the plaintiff and other Washington residents.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that Prehired and its CEO have unlawfully provided prospective students with “misleading and deceptive testimonials, endorsements and other information” about the vocational school’s programs, the earnings they could make following graduation and the cost of completing training.

The suit also claims Prehired and its co-defendants have violated another provision of Washington law by entering into ISAs with students to fund their training without ensuring that the individuals had exhausted all of their options for federal aid and been denied private loans.

The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff fell victim to the defendants’ “scheme” after being induced by the school’s representations to enroll in its science-based sales program. Per the case, the plaintiff could not afford to pay the cost of the program upfront and entered into an ISA that required her to make 48 payments of 12.5 percent of her earned income each month. The terms of the ISA stated that the plaintiff’s payments were not to start until she had completed or withdrawn from the program and her gross earnings met the ISA’s minimum threshold of $40,000 per year, the case relays.

The plaintiff says that upon completing Prehired’s program, she was unable to land a high-paying sales job as represented, and over the next two years never earned more than $40,000 per year. Despite her annual salary falling short of the ISA’s minimum threshold, the plaintiff has almost $4,000 to the defendants in 10 monthly payments, the case relays.

The lawsuit looks to represent Washington residents who signed an agreement with Prehired in substantially the same form included as an exhibit in the complaint (embedded below) and paid any money to any of the defendants within the last four years prior to the lawsuit’s filing.

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