Search Results: Student Loans

Minnesota AG Reaches Settlement with Student-Loan Debt Relief Company

On November 8, 2023, the Minnesota Attorney General (Minnesota AG) announced that the state had reached a settlement with a California-based student-loan debt-relief provider ​​over miscellaneous state law allegations.  Specifically, the Minnesota AG alleged that the company did not register as a debt settlement services provider ​with the Minnesota Department of Commerce as required by Minn. Stat. § 332B.03.  The…

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FTC Reaches Consent Order with For-Profit College Resolving Allegations of Deceptive Advertising and Loan Agreements

FTC

On October 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that that they had filed a complaint and entered into a stipulated order with a for-profit college and its parent company.  Under the consent order, the college will cancel $3.4 million in student debt, resolving allegations that it made false claims about post-graduation job placements and…

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Washington Attorney General Announces Recovery in Student Debt Adjuster Investigations

On October 17, 2023, the Washington State Attorney General (AG) announced that over the course of 2023, they had recovered approximately $360,000 in restitution from three out-of-state debt adjusters for alleged predatory student debt adjustments in violation of the Debt Adjustment Act.​ The Debt Adjustment Act limits the amount of fees a debt adjuster…

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C.D. Cal. Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against Companies Accused of Preying on Students Seeking Debt Relief

On August 21, the FTC announced that the U.S. District Court of Central California issued a temporary restraining order against two companies ​accused of targeting students seeking debt relief and collecting $8.8 million in illegal advanced fees in exchange for student loan debt relief services that did not exist. ​In its complaint,…

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CFPB and States Launch Enforcement Action Related to Student Loans

On July 13, 2023, the CFPB and various state attorneys general, along with California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, filed an adversary proceeding against a sales training company for deceptive marketing and debt collection practices relating to the company’s allegedly illegal student loan program. The eight-count complaint, filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court…

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Minnesota Attorney General Enters Into $20,000 Settlement with Student-Loan Debt Relief Company

On February 14, 2023, the Minnesota Attorney General (AG) announced a se​​​ttlement​ with a California-based student-loan debt relief company to resolve allegations that the company operated a fraudulent student loan debt forgiveness scheme. The AG alleged that the company violated Minnesota’s Debt Settlement Services Act, Minn. Stat. §§ 332B.03-.12, the Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, Minn. Stat. §…

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Minnesota AG Enters into Consent Order with Student Debt Relief Company

On November 18, 2022, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office (Minnesota AG) announced that it entered into a consent order with a California student-loan debt-relief company to resolve allegations that the company illegally collected fees from customers and mispresented its services to consumers. According to the Minnesota AG, the company “falsely promised consumers student-loan…

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CFPB Releases Supervisory Highlights Regarding Practices of Student Loan Servicers and University-Owned Lenders

In September 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a special edition of Supervisory Highlights regarding recent examination findings related to student loan servicing.  The Supervisory Highlights focus on three sets of “significant supervisory findings:”  (i) blanket policies to withhold transcripts in connection with an extension of credit are abusive…

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CFPB Orders Debt-Relief Payment Processors to Pay $11 Million in Redress and Penalties

​On May 11, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had resolved an enforcement action against two debt-relief payment processors and one of their co-founders. The CFPB alle​ged the processors improperly collected debt relief fees from consumers, misled consumers about timing of fee payments, and sent illegal fee advancements to debt-relief companies….

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FTC Obtains Permanent Injunction Against For-Profit Medical School

FTC

On April 15, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it obtained a permanent injunction against an Illinois-based, offshore, for-profit medical school for deceptive marketing practices. In its complaint ​and stipulated ​order​ filed same-day in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the FTC alleged that the school violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) when…

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CFPB Orders Student-Loan Servicer to Pay $1 Million Penalty and Remedy Miscommunications

On March 30, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with a student-loan servicer for alleged deceptive acts and practices in violation of the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531(a), 5536(a)(1)(B). The CFPB alleged that the servicer made deceptive statements to student loan borrowers and misrepresented their…

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FTC Announces Settlement With Remaining Defendants in Student Loan Debt Relief Action

FTC

On January 26, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it resolved claims against the remaining defendants in an action concerning student loan debt relief products and services that commenced in 2019.  As we ​​previously reported​, the FTC filed a complaint ​against a collection of interrelated companies in November 2019, alleging that they used fraudulent…

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Student Loan Servicer Reaches $8 Million Agreement with DOJ to Resolve False Claims Allegations

On January 14, ​2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) ​anno​un​ced​ that it reached an agreement ​with a student loan servicer that had serviced loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program.  The agreement resolves allegations that the loan servicer submitted false claims to the Department of Education (DOE) in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA)​….

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39 State Attorneys General Reach $1.85 Billion Settlement With Student Loan Servicer

On January 13, thirty-nine state Attorneys General announced that they had reached a settlement with a national student loan servicer.  The settlement resolves allegations that, since 2009, the servicer had been steering borrowers into higher-cost, longer-term forbearance arrangements.  The Attorneys General alleged the practices increased borrower loan balances and violated various provisions of each state’s laws. …

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FTC Reaches $500,000 Settlement with Payment Processor for Its Role in Alleged Student Loan Debt Relief Scheme

Piggy Bank with a Graduation Cap

On November 8, 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it entered into a stipulated order with a payment processor, resolving allegations that the payment processor violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) ​​​by facilitating payments related to an unlawful student…

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Minnesota AG Announces Approval of $38 Million in Student Loan Debt Relief and Restitution

On September 30, 2021, the Minnesota Attorney General (“Minnesota AG”) announced that a federal bankruptcy court had approved $23.6 million in student debt relief and $15.8 million in restitution for students of two for-profit universities that allegedly engaged in consumer fraud and illegal lending practices. The settlement​, originally announced in March 2021, resolved allegations that the universities misled students…

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DOJ Reaches $50,000 Settlement with NJ Higher Education Student Assistance Authority

​On September 20, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it rea​ched a settlement with the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), resolving allegations that the state agency unlawfully obtained default judgments against two military servicemembers for student loan debt in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a…

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