Globe University whistleblower case goes to the jury

Jurors have begun deliberations in the whistleblower trial involving Globe University / Minnesota School of Business.

Former dean Heidi Weber says school officials fired her in retaliation for her reports of misleading and unethical practices in the company.

Weber led the company's medical assistant program for about a year until April 2011. She says Globe, among other things, misled students about things such as accreditation, externships and how a criminal record would affect their chances for employment.

Weber's attorney, Clayton Halunen, said after the Washington County trial, "Students are not being given the full truth. Globe is selling them a dream, not an education."

But Globe's attorney, Matthew Damon, says the school was forthright and broke no laws -- and no students suffered. He says executives sometimes made mistakes in the course of work, but acted quickly to correct them.

"To characterize mistakes or discrepancies as fraud, we think, is just sort of grossly unfair and, again, unproven," Damon said after closing arguments.

Damon said Weber struggled at her job and had a hand in some of the very problems she complained about. He said she was eventually fired for losing the trust of employees and fellow managers.

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