The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that they would cancel $72 million worth of student loans that were issued to borrowers of Ashford University. Ashford University was a for-profit school that the University of Arizona acquired in 2020. As the California Department of Justice demonstrated in court, Ashford used high-pressure tactics and deceptive recruitment techniques to attract students,” U.S. In a press release, Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal stated that Ashford University had cheated students. “Today we are protecting the students who were cheated by Ashford, and we will also hold the perpetrators accountable, protect taxpayers, and deter future wrongdoing.”
The Education Department announced that 2,300 borrowers who said they were misled by Ashford University will have their loans forgiven. Evidence from that lawsuit showed that Ashford and Zovio “made numerous substantial misrepresentations during that period which borrowers relied on to their detriment.” Evidence from that lawsuit showed that Ashford and Zovio “made numerous substantial misrepresentations during that period that borrowers relied upon to their detriment.”
The period was from March 1, 2009 through April 30, 2020, the department said.
The California Department of Justice won the lawsuit last year with the court concluding that the university had made more than 1.2 million “misleading representations nationwide to prospective students and assessing a civil penalty of $22.3 million.”
The Education Department added that only 25 percent of students graduated from the university within eight years of enrollment. The Education Department said that only 25 percent of students graduated from the university within eight years of enrollment. California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that what the university did to its students “was unconscionable, and illegal,” for which the state sued the school. Bonta thanked the Biden-Harris administration for changing the lives thousands of former Ashford University students. They have been living a nightmare far too long. I encourage other individuals who took out federal student loans to attend Ashford, and were subject to its deceptive or misleading tactics, to apply for relief from the U.S. Department of Education as soon as possible.”
Borrowers who were impacted will be notified by the Education Department, the announcement stated. This announcement marks the Education Department’s latest approval of loans discharges for borrowers that attended schools who misled them or committed misconduct. Corinthian Colleges and Marinello Schools of Beauty are among the other schools that may have borrowers eligible for loan cancellations.
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