Online career training company, Career Step, LLC, is facing severe repercussions for misleading advertising practices. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has mandated the company to pay $43.5 million in debt cancellation and cash refunds. This action comes in response to allegations that Career Step enticed consumers, particularly service members and their families, with deceptive advertisements. These ads falsely promoted exaggerated employment rates, job placement services, and partnerships with well-known companies, casting a shadow over the legitimacy of their Career Step Programs.
The settlement requires Career Step to cancel $27.8 million in outstanding student debt and provide $15.7 million in cash refunds. This financial relief aims to compensate individuals who were misled by the company’s deceptive marketing tactics.
Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “Servicemembers and their families make sacrifices every day to protect our freedoms. We owe it to them to make sure that when they look to use their hard-earned benefits to further their education, they get facts and not fantasy.” This highlights the particular vulnerability of the target demographic and the importance of transparent practices in career step programs and similar educational services.
According to the FTC complaint, Career Step, operating under various names including CareerCert and Carrus, has been promoting career training and certification programs in the healthcare sector. Since at least 2019, the company allegedly employed deceptive advertising across social media and its website. Sales representatives and AI technology were reportedly used to aggressively persuade consumers to enroll in their career step programs. Marketing efforts extended to military-focused publications and military-sponsored events, further targeting service members. The core of the FTC’s allegations revolves around false claims regarding job placement rates, employment outcomes, externship opportunities, partnerships with employers, and the actual duration of their programs. Adding to the deception, the company allegedly used incentivized reviews to create a falsely positive image.
One of the key deceptive practices highlighted in the FTC complaint is the false promise of job placement assistance. Career Step representatives reportedly claimed that a dedicated “career placement team” would secure the “perfect job” for graduates. In reality, the FTC found that Career Step offered no genuine job placement services. Their assistance was limited to basic resume advice and links to publicly available job postings, a far cry from the promised personalized job securing services often associated with reputable career step programs.
Furthermore, Career Step misrepresented employment rates, claiming that “most learners” or “more than 80% of its graduates” were employed in their field of study post-program completion. These inflated claims were based on optional surveys sent only to program completers. Critically, a vast majority of enrollees never finished their programs and thus never received these surveys. Even among those who did receive surveys, response rates were extremely low. For instance, a 2020 survey saw only 5% of enrollees and 24% of program completers responding, demonstrating a statistically insignificant and potentially biased sample used to support their claims about career step programs success rates.
[ Image
](/system/files/ftc_gov/images/Exhibit-Career-Step.png)
Career Step also falsely advertised partnerships with prominent healthcare businesses to suggest guaranteed job opportunities for graduates of their career step programs. Logos of well-known companies like CVS and Walgreens were prominently displayed on their homepage as “Hiring Partners.” Sales representatives allegedly reinforced this deception by claiming “over 50,000 partnerships” to assure consumers of job prospects. However, the FTC found that these agreements, including those with CVS and Walgreens, had no bearing on post-graduation job placement and were purely for marketing purposes, misleading potential students about the benefits of their career step programs.
The promise of externships as part of their programs was another area of misrepresentation. Career Step led students to believe that externships were a standard component, facilitating program completion and practical experience. Contrary to these claims, the FTC discovered that less than 10% of students in programs requiring externships were actually placed in one. This lack of externship placement prevented students from completing their programs, effectively wasting their invested time and money on these allegedly beneficial career step programs.
Program duration was also misrepresented. Career Step advertised program completion within “four months or less.” However, the FTC found that most students never completed their programs, and even those who did often took significantly longer than advertised. Students reported website issues, unresponsive representatives, and, crucially, the failure to secure promised externships as major roadblocks. Many students saw their programs expire before completion or were forced to pay additional fees, up to $999, for program extensions, adding unexpected costs to these supposedly efficient career step programs.
Adding another layer of unethical practice, Career Step operated a deceptive incentivized review program. Students were offered program extensions – up to three months of “complimentary” time – in exchange for posting positive reviews on platforms like BBB, Google, and Trustpilot. This practice resulted in numerous reviews that falsely appeared to be genuine, unbiased opinions, further distorting the public perception of their career step programs.
The settlement, awaiting federal judge approval, mandates the $15.7 million cash payment for consumer redress and the $27.8 million debt cancellation. Furthermore, Career Step is legally prohibited from engaging in deceptive advertising for any educational product or service in the future.
Specifically, the stipulated order bars Career Step from misrepresenting critical aspects of their offerings, including: employment prospects, job placement rates, partnerships with employers, career services, externship programs, program duration, program costs, and the impartiality of reviews. They are also required to notify third-party platforms hosting incentivized reviews about the FTC action and request removal of these deceptive testimonials, aiming to cleanse the online reputation of their career step programs from fabricated endorsements.
This FTC action serves as a stark reminder of the importance of due diligence when considering online career step programs. Prospective students, especially service members and their families, should be wary of exaggerated promises and conduct thorough research before enrolling in any program. Verify claims independently and look beyond marketing materials to understand the true outcomes and support offered by such programs.
