Nearly a decade ago, California regulators restricted the company's license to run the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara after investigators concluded that the company was misleading prospective students about their job prospects.
Over the last two years, federal regulators have sued for-profit chains Corinthian Colleges, ITT Educational Services Inc. and DeVry Education Group, alleging they misled prospective students -- who collectively have taken on billions of dollars in federal student loans -- about their future career prospects.
In June, the prospect of misleading labeling moved Richard Olsen-Harbich, the winemaker at Raphael, a $6 million winery that plans to open soon in Peconic, and Karen Meredith, owner of Broadfields, a new vineyard in Southold, to request the new A.V.A.
In July, a national Latino civil rights group accused Herbalife of misleading people about the prospect of making money selling its products.
But, Ms. Milam said, the entrepreneurs either were naive about their own prospects, or misleading the hires.
The new England and Wales Cricket Board chairman, Colin Graves, has denied misleading Kevin Pietersen over his prospects for an international recall, angrily accusing critics of calling his integrity into question.
Such analysis provides society with misleading signals of future economic prospects.
And Dream Center showed little inclination to curb the tactics that got Education Management in trouble, like misleading students about their employment prospects.
"There were some reports last week privately circulating that were misleading and distorted about our prospects," says Mac Jeffrey, spokesman at Globalstar.
The company is currently being investigated by the New York Attorney General's office for misleading investors about MoviePass' financial prospects.
