students in our sample were made to students who never became eligible," Tighe said. Bridgepoint hadn't returned the improperly obtained student aid to the federal government, and said on a recent report she'd seen that Bridgepoint was "sitting on $130 million" in these types of funds. Due to the ongoing Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) proceedings, and in order to preserve due process, Ashford's parent company, Bridgepoint Education, chose not to send executives to the HELP committee hearing while engaged in negotiations with FSA. Rather, Bridgepoint published a summary of responses called Bridgepoint Education Transparency. Audits, investigations, and lawsuits (2011–2021) In 2011, Ashford was audited by the U.S. Department of Education for its recruiting and finance practices. Bridgepoint Education responded with a report asserting that the information in the Senate hearing was inaccurate or incomplete. On December 3, 2014 a suit was filed in Arizona federal court charging that Bridgepoint Education was violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by robocalling sales prospects. Similar suits were filed in federal court in San Diego and the Northern District of Ohio. In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that they were investigating Ashford University related to '"unlawful acts or practices related to the advertising, marketing or origination of private student loans."' In 2016, Bridgepoint Education received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission related to the potential joint resolution of investigations by the California Attorney General and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In 2016, a former senior vice president at Ashford University alleged that Bridgepoint falsified its financial reports by inaccurately projecting the student retention rate. On September 12, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Bridgepoint Education, the parent company of Ashford University, $31.5 million for deceiving students about the cost of private student loans; $23.5 million was targeted for relief and refunds to consumers. In 2016, the Iowa Department of Education notified Ashford that it would discontinue approval for GI Bill benefits after June 30. In September 2017 the Department of Veterans Affairs accepted the shift in its state-based eligibility for veterans' benefits from Iowa to Arizona, but also stated in a letter that the VA has independent regulatory authority aside from the Arizona State Approving Agency. In September 2017, the VA gave Ashford approval to enroll GI Bill students indefinitely. Ashford University and its parent company Bridgepoint Education were the subject of an investigation published in The