Over 7,000 Colorado students find debt relief

In recent years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have closed only seven companies that lured consumers with promises to reduce or forgive student loan debt. But more than 130 student loan debt relief businesses operating during the period had records of questionable or illegal behavior, according to a NerdWallet review of public records.

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In recent years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have closed only seven companies that lured consumers with promises to reduce or forgive student loan debt. But more than 130 student loan debt relief businesses operating during the period had records of questionable or illegal behavior, according to a NerdWallet review of public records.

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that $130 million in student debt forgiveness will be rewarded to students who attended CollegeAmerica’s Colorado-based locations between Jan. 1, 2006 and July 1, 2020, paving the way for 7,400 students to find financial relief after misleading information about the school.

The department found that the Center for Excellence in Higher Education, CollegeAmerica’s parent company, deceived potential students by giving false information about its programs, private loan terms offered and post graduate salaries and employment rates.

Under Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s multiyear investigation and lawsuit against CEHE, the department used evidence to go forward with the debt relief.

A news release stated that in June 2022, Weiser asked the Department to cancel loans for qualified students after a Denver District Court judge in August 2020 found that CollegeAmerica’s marketing and admissions departments violated state consumer protection and lending laws, resulting in an appeal on the case.

Currently CollegeAmerica campuses are permanently closed, but CEHE still remains in operation, according to its website.

“I applaud the Department of Education for providing much-deserved relief to the many Coloradans who were mistreated by CollegeAmerica,” Weiser said. “CollegeAmerica knowingly took advantage of students by luring them into high-priced, low-quality programs with promises of high-earning potential and job placement that it knew were not attainable.”

Weiser defends Colorado student loan borrowers through the Colorado Department of Law. He also holds accountable exploitative schools and deceptive student loan service providers.

More than $320 million in refunds for student loan forgiveness has been granted to 23,400 Coloradans protected by the Department of Law since 2019 from incidences in relation with other schools.

Borrowers with questions about their student loans can reach out to the student loan ombudsperson in the Attorney General’s Office, where they manage complaints from borrowers.