For those of us who follow education policy, the process surrounding Corinthian Colleges has been fascinating.

Corinthian is – or, as of last week, “was” – a for-profit system of post-secondary education schools, headquartered in Orange County, California, operating known brands like Heald, Wyotech and Everest College nationwide. They came under federal scrutiny for allegations of fraud, including the use of false statistics on graduation and job placement to goad potential students into taking out debt to attend.

Last summer, a formal Department of Education agreement proffered more federal money to the company as long as Corinthian sold off or closed its remaining campuses. Last month, after California Attorney General Kamala Harris obstructed potential sales, and the Department of Education filed for $30 million in fines, the company moved to close its remaining California campuses.

And on May 4, Corinthian filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company will still need to address the alleged “947 misstated placement rates” cited by the DOE, which itself will need to answer to a vocal group of former Corinthian students who seek debt forgiveness.

This is how markets work: Should consumers believe they’ve been defrauded, the harmed parties seek redress and, should a business be found guilty, it is held accountable.

While 85 percent of Corinthian’s revenue reportedly came from federal loans, and the entire business model is supported by a government-inflated market for post-secondary degrees, it has that characteristic one rarely finds in government: accountability.

Corinthian is a textbook example of two things: First, how private, for-profit institutions should face accountability; second, how government intervention into the education and loan markets can have disastrous results.