Students who enrolled in fake school ICE used in sting can sue, judges rule

In 2018, Teja Ravi paid $12,500 to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Farmington, which he thought was an accredited school in Michigan, he said in court documents.

But Farmington, it turned out, was fake. The Department of Homeland Security had set it up to ensnare foreign nationals who had come to the United States on student visas — a sting operation federal prosecutors revealed in 2019, the year after Ravi enrolled.

Last week, a federal appeals court ruling created an opening for Ravi and other students to sue the government after receiving no classes or other education in exchange for the tuition they paid to Farmington. The ruling reverses a 2022 dismissal of a class-action lawsuit Ravi filed, accusing the federal government of breach of contract.