Beshear: Stop Delaying Student Loan Forgiveness

Attorney General Andy Beshear is requesting that the U.S. Department of Education stop delaying student loan forgiveness for thousands of Kentucky students victimized by the predatory practices of Corinthian Colleges Inc.

Beshear said nearly 2,000 Kentucky students, and 24,000 students nationwide, have already been approved for loan forgiveness but are experiencing delays.

“As attorney general, my mission is to protect Kentucky families from consumer fraud, especially the deception by for-profit colleges like Corinthian,” Beshear said. “Thousands of Kentucky students have been promised debt relief from fraudulent Corinthian loans, and we must do everything in our power to help them escape from this financial burden.”

In a June 5 letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Beshear, joined by 17 states’ and the District of Columbia’s attorneys general, to urge the Department of Education to review the mounting loan forgiveness applications and work quickly to finalize the applications.

The for-profit Corinthian Colleges abruptly ceased operations in 2015, after the federal government and state attorneys general found that Corinthian Colleges engaged in widespread consumer fraud by falsifying its job placement rate between 2010 and 2014.

In Kentucky, Corinthian Colleges targeted Kentuckians under the name Everest College and Everest University, offering online classes. Corinthian also marketed its WyoTech program in Kentucky attempting to recruit Kentuckians to its WyoTech campuses in Pennsylvania and Florida.

In April 2017, Beshear’s office sent a letter to eligible Kentucky students, who fell within the U.S. Department of Education’s findings of fraud concerning Corinthian, explaining that they were eligible for streamlined federal student loan cancellation.

Beshear said because of the delays some students are nearing the end of 12-month forbearances on their loans, and face restarting monthly payments on debts that should be canceled.

Beshear’s office is committed to holding for-profit colleges accountable in Kentucky and is working to help defrauded students.

On April 24, 2017, Beshear joined with other state attorneys general to send a letter to federal officials expressing concern over the withdrawal of critical student loan servicing reforms.

In December 2016, Beshear announced nearly 3,500 former students of Daymar College’s Kentucky campuses and online programs will receive restitution checks totaling $1.2 million. The payments are pursuant to a settlement agreement the Office of the Attorney General entered into with Daymar in 2015 resolving a consumer protection lawsuit.

In August 2016, Beshear announced that the Kentucky Court of Appeals had affirmed a previous order by Franklin Circuit Court requiring National College of Kentucky Inc. and its attorneys to pay the state a combined $157,000 in civil monetary sanctions. The Kentucky Supreme Court declined to take up National College’s request to overturn the appeals’ court decision. National College has asked the Supreme Court to review the decision.

In March 2016, Beshear joined seven other state attorneys general in asking the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to restore educational and vocational benefits to thousands of veterans victimized by Corinthian Colleges Inc. for predatory practices. Kentucky veterans are among the 2,000 students receiving letters from Beshear regarding their federal loans.

Additionally, Beshear warns Kentucky college students to not fall for companies promising loan debt relief services for a large fee and the student’s personal information.

Beshear said his office of Consumer Protection is currently investigating several of these companies, and is asking students who have been a victim to contact his office by phone, 502-696-5300, or by completing a complaint form online.