El Paso barber school settles allegations, has to pay $900K

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Victor Phillips, the owner of Cutt Master Barber School, LLC has agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by falsely submitting claims to the Veteran’s Administration.

Cutt Master is a hair salon and barbershop school doing business in El Paso.

In 2011 the Texas Veterans Commission approved Cutt Master offering veterans and active-duty military members educational courses for reimbursement under the GI Bill, a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice stated.

The VA paid Cutt Master tuition and fees for covered courses, the news release stated.

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The news release stated that the government alleged that Cutt Master received payments for claims that did not comply with VA requirements and submitted claims for courses not properly accredited.

The government also alleged that Phillips falsely certified that he and Cutt Master complied with VA requirements regarding the appropriate ratio of VA students enrolled in their programs.

According to the news release, Phillips and the government have agreed to resolve the dispute with Phillips paying $900,000.00 to the United States.

The matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The claims asserted against the defendants are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability, the news release stated.

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