Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi sued College Education Services, LLC., and its owners, Frank Liz and Marcia Elena Vargas, on Thursday for allegedly scamming customers with a student loan relief program.
The Tampa-based firm allegedly offered student loan relief in which consumers would pay for fees upfront that would cover loan forgiveness, loan consolidation and relieve wage garnishments. The suit alleges that the company and its predecessor, College-Defaulted Student Loan LLC, failed to deliver on the services that were offered or didn't properly perform the services they represented.
“People who are diligently making student loan payments shouldn’t have to worry about scammers seeking to exploit them,” Bondi said. “My office will continue to protect all people from student loan scams.”
The suit includes numerous allegations, including that the defendants violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Consumer Protection Act, and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
"Student loans are already a significant debt for many Americans," Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "College Education Services added to that hardship by taking advantage of troubled borrowers and failing to describe their services honestly. When scam artists prey on student loan borrowers, we will take action to halt their illegal activity.”