Thousands Of Students To Get Total Loan Forgiveness In New Settlement
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- More than 12,000 Pennsylvania students are getting total loan forgiveness for money lent to them by the Career Education Corporation, which operated the now-closed Sanford-Brown Institute in Downtown Pittsburgh, Wilkins Township and Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Career Education Corporation, which operated under several names, ripped off students by promising more than they delivered, and then loaning the Pennsylvania students $38.6 million.
"As a result of our intervention, and holding this for-profit college accountable, those loans from the college will now be wiped out, will now be forgiven as a result of the deceptive practices from this for-profit college," said Shapiro.
Shapiro says Career Education Corporation engaged in deceptive practices:
- Used emotional language to induce enrollment,
- Deceived students about cost of enrollment,
- Misled students about transferring credits,
- Deceived students about future jobs.
Shapiro says students everywhere are potential victims to educational scams.
"We are seeing more and more of these scams involving for-profit colleges," he said. "In fact, it's been a central focus of the work that we are doing in my Bureau of Consumer Protection."
The attorney general says if any student feels victimized by an educational institution, he wants to hear about it.
"The more we can learn about affected consumers, the harder we can fight for Pennsylvanians," he said.
