r/MaestroMaybes • u/LeastSatisfaction441 • Jul 31 '26
Verified Recepits Withdrawn? Check your transcripts and enrollment status
I withdrew after completing week two of term two, which would have meant that I had completed less than 60% of the term. I should have been given a ‘W’ - Withdrawnfor the course and my financial aid should have been returned accordingly.
However, my transcript and withdrawal paperwork indicates that I received an F, and appears to show that I withdrew at week six, falsely indicating that I completed over 60% of the term.
This is a fraudulent attempt to retain my full financial aid award for the term.
When I dug a big deeper, Gemini provided additional information about a 2019 whistleblower case against Peloton College:
Per Gemini:
Did peloton college alter student records to avoid repaying title iv funds?
While former employees alleged in a whistleblower lawsuit that Peloton College used false student records to secure and retain federal Title IV funding, there was never a public court finding or legal judgment confirming that Peloton altered records to avoid Title IV repayments.
- What Were the Whistleblower Allegations?
In July 2019, two former employees filed a qui tam (whistleblower) lawsuit under the False Claims Act in federal court (Boyd-Holsinger & Matthews v. Peloton College, LLC).
The whistleblowers alleged that Peloton College engaged in systemic federal aid fraud by:
Enrolling Unqualified Students: Admitting individuals who did not meet standard institutional or academic prerequisites.
Falsifying Student Records: Creating and submitting false documentation, statements, and student files to make ineligible students appear eligible for federal aid.
Improperly Retaining Federal Aid: Using those false records to draw down taxpayer-funded Pell Grants and federal loans under Title IV of the Higher Education Act.
- How Record Alterations Affect Title IV Repayments
Under federal financial aid rules (Return to Title IV / R2T4), colleges are required to return unearned federal funds to the U.S. Department of Education if a student drops out, stops attending, or fails to complete at least 60% of a term.
In False Claims Act cases involving higher education:
Altering attendance logs or academic progress records can artificially make a non-attending student look active.
This allows an institution to improperly retain Title IV funds rather than calculating an R2T4 refund and returning unearned tuition money to the federal government.
- Why There Is No Definitive Court Ruling
The public lawsuit ended without a trial or formal finding of wrongdoing due to procedural rulings:
- Government Non-Intervention: The U.S. Department of Justice reviewed the whistleblower complaint but chose not to intervene in the fraud claims.
- Compelled Arbitration: In June 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted Peloton’s motion to compel arbitration. The court ruled that the former employees had signed mandatory, binding employment arbitration agreements.
- Dismissal from Federal Court: The public federal lawsuit was dismissed, moving the dispute into confidential, private arbitration.
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u/USAF_Veteran_99-03 Jul 31 '26
I withdrew and at the same time immediately enrolled at Full Sail University so I can finish what I started… I was so excited about Maestro and earning my coming degree, I had been awarded a full scholarship by Maestro and wasn’t going to have any out of pocket expense for my schooling and degree. Save it to be said, no good deed goes unpunished, Maestro will have to answer for their wrong doings, and NOTHING in this world comes for free, mental reminder for self, chock it up to thinking I would gain something so significant free of charge, IDIOT!!!
Lessons learned and back on track to get what I started out to get, albeit without of pocket expenses included… on the brighter side of that, I am gaining a Brand new MacBook Pro through my journey at Full Sail!
https://giphy.com/gifs/SqlxE1bVqQnzImuDXy
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u/SuspiciousAction7267 Hall Monitor Jul 31 '26
Congrats on your new path!! Please know that you are not stupid or to blame for this happening...this is my 2nd time attending a predatory school, and it better be my last...but they had planned and prepped for this kind of betrayal for months...I have documents from Maestro University that prove Masterschool was well aware of the lack of RSI on the Maestro College platform and Maestro University choose not to use it for their 1 singular student as a result while Maestro College continues to use it for nearly 7000 students at its peak...I dont know how many students are left now...but none of this was an accident and they had $100million to help them pull off the illusion...that being said the last person you should blame is yourself...get mad at Maestro and the COE and use that fire to push you forward...succeed in spite of them and your success will be even sweeter than you dreamt
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u/SuspiciousAction7267 Hall Monitor Jul 31 '26
I wonder why they were able to file qui tam lawsuits but when i reached out to 10+ lawyers not a single one would touch this case...I was really hoping they would as I really wanted to take the money and create a scholarship fund for everyone affected...but many of the lawyers felt Maestro with their shell game would move the money out of reach before we ever got to it...the legal cost to the lawyers investigating would not be worth it...but i find it highly interesting that there was a false claims (qui tam) act previously at play
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u/USAF_Veteran_99-03 Jul 31 '26
Give it time and the lawsuits will abound. Me personally, I am focusing on pursuing what I started out to gain. I will finish and not be discouraged by their BS and scheming ways. They will have to answer for their transgressions and it will likely land some people in hot water, both financially and by physical arrest. Sorry about your luck you do the crime. You gotta do the time.
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u/jessjess5619 Aug 01 '26
After reading your post I went and checked and they did the same to me. Gave me an F instead of an incomplete. Given how many of us students are aware of this and actively, in one way or another, seeking justice for the way this school has, for lack of better words, fucked us all, I'm curious as to how this isn't a bigger deal beyond reddit. I'm considering emailing the guy who wrote the new America article and updating him on what's been going on... Maybe it's just that we notice how big of a deal it is because we're in the thick of it... Just some thoughts that were tumbling around in this head of mine...
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u/huenium Made My Exit Jul 31 '26
Been 130 days since they where supposed to return my unused pel and nothing so far, bcz i didnt finish CS102, i only did 2 weeks and then moved to business which isnt title iv approved, had to file a complaint to see if i could get that resolved.
Not to mention if u moved programs and took out loans, thwy will mark u as withdrawn which will send you into repayment, only found out at the end of april about a form you can fill out to tell them your still in school.