When looking into colleges as a high school senior, it might now be important to discern whether or not the school is for-profit because such schools could be trying to trick students into spending more on student loans.

According to the Associated Press, California State Attorney General Kamala Harris filed a lawsuit against Corinthian Colleges, Inc. for using deceptive practices to lure low-income students to attend their school and pay with student loans. The deception included false job placement statistics and advertisements.

Corinthian, based in Santa Ana, operates Everest, Heald and WyoTech colleges, which combine for 81,000 students nationwide and 27,000 in California. Harris said many of these students are minorities, in their 20s, have annual incomes of about $20,000 and even include many single mothers.

"Corinthian College was serving not as an educator but as a predator of some of the most vulnerable people in our community," Harris said.

Kent Jenkins, a Corinthian spokesman, said the college chain was disappointed in Harris' filing. He said Corinthian had cooperated with Harris' office for the past nine months.

"We are proud of the career and technical education that our 15,000 employees provide to more than 80,000 students in the United States and Canada," he said.

The lawsuit was part of a much larger investigation into the for-profit higher education industry in its entirety. Harris has also implicated Bridgepoint Education, based in San Diego, which includes 80,000 students at Ashford University, in Iowa, and the University of the Rockies, in Colorado. She did not disclose any other companies under investigation.

Included in Harris' lawsuit is the school's alleged illegal use of military seals to attract war veterans with tens of thousands of dollars to spend on education.

California is not the only state conducting such an investigation. Attorney generals in New York and other states are investigation for-profit college companies' misrepresented statistics and advertisements.

Harris also alleged Corinthian misrepresented its job placement rates to attract investors as well as students. The company claims a rate of 68.1 percent, which Harris said is exaggerated.

Harris is reportedly seeking an undisclosed amount in damages, including reimbursement for students who were tricked using these dishonest schemes.