Lawmakers are asking the Department of Education’s watchdog to probe possible leaks to short-sellers regarding the regulatory agency’s plans to crack down on the for-profit education industry.
On Wednesday, Senators Richard Burr and Tom Coburn asked the Education Department’s inspector general in a letter to investigate “events leading up to and surrounding” July’s proposed rules that have shaken the once-thriving industry.
The request included an email from an official at a non-profit education organization founded by Bob Shireman — who was spearheading the rulemaking until he left the Education Department this summer — forwarding the first batch of proposed rules a day before they were officially released.
“If one group received an embargoed copy of these proposed regulations, other groups, including those who stand to benefit financially … may have as well,” the letter says.
Short-seller Steve Eisman spoke with Shireman when Shireman was DOE deputy undersecretary in late April, according to a recent article in Fortune.
A spokesman for Eisman declined to comment.