Search Results: Student Loans

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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CFPB Enters Into Consent Order with Affiliated Education Financing Companies

Piggy Bank with a Graduation Cap

​On September 7, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a group of affiliated education financing companies that provided students with income share agreements (ISAs) to finance postsecondary education.  The consent order resolves allegations that the companies violated ​the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), Regulation Z…

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California Settles with Student Loan Debt Relief Company for Allegedly Collecting Illegal Fees

​On August 9, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced ​that it had entered into a settlement agreement with a Tustin-based student loan d​ebt relief company, resolving allegations that the company violated the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) when it collected illegal advance fees under the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). This settlement comes as the…

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Massachusetts AG Reaches Settlement with Bank to Provide Student Loan Debt Relief

On May 28, 2021, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy (Massachusetts​ AG) announced a settlement with a bank, acting as an agent for lenders, which requires the bank to permanently discharge debts and return payments made by certain former students of a regional for-profit university.  The settlement requires the bank to refund over $30,000 in recent loan repayments made by certain Massachusetts borrowers…

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