BOSTON — As part of an assurance of discontinuance filed in Suffolk Superior Court by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, a Tennessee credit union will discharge close to $650,000 in loan debt to students who were allegedly scammed by a company selling false educational materials.
Healey announced her filing saying that Southeast Financial Credit Union (Southeast) will discharge the loans made to students in Massachusetts for educational material they purchased from The College Network. The network marketed online study guides and educational services to mostly prospective nurses. Southeast will also work to remove the negative loan information from consumer's credit reports.
“The College Network cheated hundreds of Massachusetts consumers by making false promises about their online educational materials and services,” Healey said in a statement. “This settlement holds the lender accountable for profiting from this scheme and will provide $650,000 in discharges and refunds to the consumers.”
According to the Attorney General's Office, The College Network tricked consumers and sold exams that cost thousands of dollars with the company's sales personnel using Southeast to help finance customer's educational material purchases, Healey's office said.