The Career Education Corporation disclosed today that it had received a request from the U.S. Justice Department for documents related to accusations that the higher-education company had misled prospective students about its job-placement rates and the cost of attending. According to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Career Education was asked to provide documents about how its admissions officials are compensated, among other things, in connection with allegations that one or more of its colleges submitted false claims for student aid to the U.S. Education Department. The company said it is cooperating with the Justice Department.

Career Education enrolls more than 95,000 students on 80 campuses and online programs, but as it has grown, it has drawn fire from federal regulators, accreditors, and current and former students who have questioned its aggressive recruiting tactics (The Chronicle, January 13).

Just last month, the company agreed to repay more than $490,000 to the Education Department for breaches of federal financial-aid regulations (The Chronicle, May 9).