DC AG: Foreign teacher exchange program threatened deportation

Map of D.C., Maryland and Virginia(Danny Yi)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The attorney general of Washington, D.C., says a teacher exchange program in the district lied to foreign recruits and threatened them with deportation if they didn’t sign annual contracts.

The Washington Post reports D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine’s office on Monday sued Earl Francisco Lopez, the owner of D.C.-based Bilingual Teacher Exchange and other companies. The lawsuit says the program recruited teachers who wanted to work in a multiyear state department exchange program.

It says the program pretended to be affiliated with the District public school system and said it could sponsor recruits, who it then charged thousands of dollars and offered predatory loans. It says the program didn’t provide promised services like school placement and didn’t pay teachers for some work.

Lopez didn’t immediately return requests for comment.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

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