Attorneys general want ITT Tech student debt canceled
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI)-Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden is encouraging the U.S. Department of Education to cancel federal student loan debt of those who attended ITT Technical Institute.
Wasden said the defunct, for-profit school defrauded thousands of people by encouraging them to enroll and borrow loans based on false and misleading information about the value of an ITT Tech degree.
The Attorney General joined a bipartisan coalition of 24 attorneys general in a borrower defense application. It includes students who attended ITT Tech between at least 2007 and 2011, when the school was encouraging students to borrow federal student aid.
Federal law permits the Department of Education to forgive federal student loans when borrowers were deceived in obtaining the loans. The attorneys general are requesting full relief to ITT Tech students, including refunds of the money students already paid on those loans.
“It’s unfortunate these students were misled as to the value of an ITT Tech education,” Wasden said. “Based on that misrepresentation, many borrowed thousands of dollars in federal aid to cover the costs of their education. However, when all was said and done, most students didn’t receive the education they were promised yet still had all the related debt. Forgiving these students’ loans helps rectify the situation.”
A 2012 congressional report indicates the school enrolled around 282,000 students between 2007 and 2010 that misrepresented the value of its education, while assuring graduates they would find high-paying jobs.
