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A6 U.S. NEWS
Monday 13 noveMber 2017

Lawsuit seeks new recourse on for-profit college fraud

By MARIA DANILOVA vestigation by New York At-
Associated Press torney General found that
WASHINGTON (AP) — the school routinely misrep-
Two women who claim resented its job placement
they were defrauded by results to students.
a for-profit college have It has since then shut down
sued the Education De- all of its brick-and-mortar
partment and a private campuses, but still oper-
loan servicer in a case ates online.
their attorneys say could Career Education Col-
provide a new legal rem- leges and Universities, the
edy for tens of thousands for-profit industry lobbying
of students frustrated with group, also did not return a
the department’s inaction request for comment.
on claims seeking loan for- Work on student loan relief
giveness. has largely stalled since
The lawsuit, filed Sunday in DeVos assumed office. She
federal court in New York, has halted two Obama-
comes as the department era initiatives that called
begins work this week re- for more protections for
writing Obama adminis- students and has accumu-
tration rules designed to lated a backlog of some
boost protections for stu- 87,000 loan cancellation
dents defrauded by their claims, according to a re-
schools. In this June 6, 2017, file photo, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill in Wash- port published this week.
Tina Carr and Yvette Co- ington. The Associated Press re-
lon had attended Sanford- its to other schools, as had Predatory Student Lending, process.” ported last month that
Brown Institute, a for-profit been promised, according which represents defraud- The Department of Educa- DeVos is considering
college in New York, and to the suit. ed students. tion did not respond to a abandoning the Obama
are seeking to have their Colon is asking for the can- “Yvette and Tina deserve request for comment. administration practice of
student loans erased. cellation of her four federal to be able to move on with Navient, the loan servicer fully erasing student loans
Their lawsuit cites federal and two private loans total- their lives, and because it’s named in the suit, said it and granting defrauded
and state law that prohib- ing $21,000. clear that the department doesn’t have the authority students only partial relief.
its fraud as well as the con- Carr trained to be a medi- doesn’t have any inten- to decide the fate of stu- Critics say the Trump ad-
tract they signed with their cal assistant. She says the tion for doing anything for dent loans. ministration is looking out
school. school lied to her about job cheated students, it’s nec- “As mandated by federal for its friends in the for-profit
Previous lawsuits invoked placement assistance and essary to bypass them and requirements, all applica- industry and putting their
the department’s own reg- the ability to transfer cred- go straight to the court for tions for defense to repay- interests ahead of stu-
ulations in their search for its. their fair hearing,” she add- ment are submitted to the dents’.
loan relief. Carr has defaulted on her ed. U.S. Department of Educa- DeVos has hired Robert
Attorneys for the two stu- $14,500 federal loans and Abby Shafroth, an attorney tion for processing, and, Eitel, who served as a top
dents say the new ap- wants the loan forgiven. at the National Consumer upon government direc- lawyer for Career Educa-
proach is necessary be- “People’s rights not to pay Law Center, said borrow- tion, servicers suspend re- tion Corporation, an um-
cause Education Secretary for defective products is ers are turning to the courts payment while the Depart- brella organization for SBI,
Betsy DeVos has stalled well established in law, because nothing else is ment of Education makes as her senior counselor.
consideration of tens of so whatever the Depart- working. a discharge eligibility de- She also appointed a for-
thousands of similar claims ment of Education is or is “They’ve come to this ap- termination,” the company mer dean at DeVry Uni-
from borrowers. not doing, the legal rights proach because all other said. versity to serve as head of
Colon completed the of borrowers continue to avenues have failed,” Career Education Cor- the department’s enforce-
school’s certificate pro- exist and are enforceable Shafroth said. poration, which operates ment unit.
gram to work as a car- against the government “At a certain point there Sanford-Brown Institute, did Meanwhile, earlier this year,
diac sonographer, only to just as they are against has to be another way, not respond to a request President Donald Trump
learn that her credentials private parties,” said Toby the department cannot for comment. In 2013, the paid $25 million to settle
were invalid and that she Merill, a litigator at Har- say ‘You have to use our school reached a $10 mil- charges his Trump Univer-
couldn’t transfer her cred- vard University’s Project on process and not provide a lion settlement after an in- sity misled customers.q