When Le'Shawn Reynolds applied for a nursing position at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, she left the interview thinking the job was hers.

But no one at the hospital followed up with the offer Reynolds believed was imminent. When she called back, Reynolds was told she didn't get the job because her school, Virginia Western Community College, was not accredited.

That was the first time Reynolds and 58 of her classmates were told that the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission no longer recognized the nursing program they had pinned their job hopes on, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Roanoke County Circuit Court.

Each of the 59 graduates and students -- and another eight who will soon join the case -- is seeking at least $350,000 for damage to their nursing careers and future lost wages, said John Fishwick, one of the attorneys who filed the suit.

That could add up to $23 million if a judge or jury agrees with Fishwick that the school deceived and defrauded its students.

"Despite losing accreditation in June 2006, Virginia Western continued to let its students believe they were participating in a nationally accredited program which would enable them to compete at the highest levels for job and educational opportunities nationwide," Fishwick said.

"Virginia Western also deceived the general public and future enrollees by continuing to tout the NLNAC accreditation in its literature and on its Web site, long after the accreditation had been lost."

Margaret Boyes, a spokeswoman for Virginia Western, said the school could not comment on active litigation.

She did point out, however, that the school's nursing program is accredited by the Virginia Board of Nursing. Earlier this year, when the some of the students filed notices of possible litigation, Boyes said that NLNAC accreditation -- or the lack of it -- does not affect a student's ability to apply for a job, transfer to another school or take the licensing exam for nurses.

Boyes said at the time that students were not notified of the loss of accreditation because the school believed it would have no practical effect on their futures.

There are about 120 students enrolled in the school's two-year nursing program, Boyes said Thursday.

Of the 59 plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, about 50 are graduates and the rest are students. All were enrolled in the nursing program from August 2005 to August 2007.

Eight more students plan to join the lawsuit once they have exhausted the state's administrative claim process, Fishwick said.

The lawsuit, which names Virginia Western, the state and its comptroller, makes claims of fraud, breach of contract and violations of the state Consumer Protection Act.

Fishwick, who represents the students along with attorneys Monica Mroz and Jeff Dorsey, released a statement from two of his clients at a news conference Thursday.

"Instead of receiving the education we were promised and worked so hard to earn, we were deceived," Allan Finch and Christina Brink said in a joint statement. "We have invested our time and money into an education that is worth far less than Virginia Western led us to believe."

Reynolds, whose experience with the VA Medical Center was recounted in the lawsuit, could not be reached for comment.