University of Florida Board of Trustees member and longtime donor James W. “Bill” Heavener has been accused of defrauding the government out of millions of dollars, according to a federal lawsuit filed in California.
The complaint, filed in 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges two colleges partially owned and operated by Heavener “financed thousands of short-term job placements for their graduates through schemes with non-profits and paid-off vendors.”
The lawsuit claims the Los Angeles Film School and Full Sail University lied to government officials about students’ employment outcomes for over a decade to continue receiving federal funding, a violation of federal law and accrediting standards.
Heavener is a UF alum and has served on the Board of Trustees since 2013. He is a longtime donor to the university, as evidenced by the buildings throughout campus named after him, including the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center, the Heavener School of Business, Heavener Hall and the Heavener Football Complex.
The outside of the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.
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UF declined to comment on the allegations. Heavener has not responded to The Sun’s request for comment. Calls and emails to Heavener’s attorney with Cooley LLP have not yet been returned.
Other defendants in the suit include Diana Derycz-Kessler, former president and CEO of the L.A. Film School, and her husband, Paul Kessler.
According to the lawsuit, the L.A. Film School receives over $85 million per year in federal financial assistance.
Full Sail, a private, for-profit institution in Winter Park, receives $377 million in federal financial assistance per year.
For a school to be eligible for federal financial aid it must meet federal “gainful employment” requirements which stipulate 70% of graduates be consistently employed in the field in which they were trained.
To meet this requirement, the complaint alleges Heavener and other executives ordered the school to maintain an “appearance of compliance.”
According to court documents, the L.A. Film School and Full Sail paid employers to hire graduates, often only for a couple days, so the school could count them as “employed”. Both schools also offered production companies free or below market value use of their facilities and equipment on the condition they hire graduates.
The complaint was filed by former Los Angeles Film School executives David Phillips, who served as vice president of career development, and Ben Chaib, who served as vice president of admissions. They claim the L.A. Film School and Full Sail’s operations were tight-knit and fraudulent schemes were coordinated by Heavener on both campuses.
Phillips claimed “the vast majority of LAFS graduates were not able to obtain entry level positions” in the entertainment industry.
The complaint further alleges Heavener knew full-time jobs did not exist for some L.A. Film School graduates.
Most graduates reported a yearly income between zero and $5,000 in their field of study, according to the complaint.
The cost of tuition for a bachelor’s degree at the Los Angeles Film School ranges from $60,000 to $89,000 for domestic students, according to its website.
Tuition for a bachelor’s degree at Full Sail University ranges from $67,000-$95,000, according to its website.
Both schools deny the allegations made against them and maintain that their graduates have gone on to have successful careers.
“Full Sail is proud of the accomplishments and well-documented successes of its graduates, including alumni who have worked on countless award-winning projects and who have earned individual recognition including Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and The Game Award honors,” a spokesperson from Full Sail University said in a statement. “Our Career Development department does an exceptional job supporting students and alumni, and the outcomes are regularly reviewed by regulators to confirm compliance.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: University of Florida trustee Heavener accused in fraud scheme
