WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joined eight other attorneys general on Thursday in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Education asking the government to forgive loans for students who attended Corinthian College.
The college came under fire last year after a lawsuit was filed by the California and Wisconsin attorneys general alleging the college misrepresented the urgency of enrolling to secure space in programs, the financial earnings of graduates and the historical success it had in placing students in jobs in their field of study, among other accusations.
“Corinthian took advantage of students who were trying to build a better life for themselves and their families,” Healey said. “It is critical that we work together to counter fraud and abuse within the for-profit school system, and provide relief for those students who now face incredible financial burdens. We urge the department to help students who went to schools that violated our laws.”
Healey joined attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington. The letter also asked Arne Duncan, secretary for the Department of Education, to create a system to allow individual student borrowers a chance to have their loans canceled when for-profit schools violate state law.
The 2014 lawsuit also alleged Corinthian misrepresented its affiliation with the United States military, the transferability of credits, its role in the private loan program, availability of externships, the availability and nature of financial aid and the employment assistance the school provides to graduates.
“Our greatest concern comes from certain large, predatory for-profit schools that are actively undermining our federal loan programs, depriving students of the education they promise and that the students deserve,” the letter states.