In 2019, Education Principle Foundation (EPF) received $69M in assets along with $36M in liabilities as part of the Dream Center-ED deal.
In 2021, In Lacon v. EPF, South University was accused of using a predatory lead generator and robocalls to recruit and enroll students, using Yodel Technologies, JobsFlag, Double Positive Marketing, andTelesolutions/Graspy Media. The allegations stemmed from business activities in 2020.
In 2020, South University took on a $50M Main Street Loan debt and promptly paid EPF $44M to pay off their debt to EPF.
Both South University and the Art Institute continued to use Studio Enterprise for Marketing, Compliance, and IT. For South University, this service amounts to about $22M per year. Studio is owned by Colbeck Capital, BN, and other unnamed investors.
EPF's net position changed from $33M to $25M from 2019 to January 2021. In January 2021, EPF's net position was then $25M--with no liabilities.
In 2021, South University made $5M in profit as they cut labor costs by $7M.
SY has said recently on record that South will be able to make the loan payments, including a $36M payment in December 2025. South University also has a $7.5M Main Street loan payment to make in December 2023 and another in December 2024. These loans cannot be forgiven.
It appears that EPF has been trying to sell South University and the Art Institutes. Studio Enterprise has not denied that they have been part of that process.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464265864
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_audit/24951020211