Minnesota's Attorney General opened an investigation into 52 student debt companies last month, accusing them of violating multiple Minnesota laws and not registering in the state.
“So the kind of core of it is, they are certainly at first and foremost not registered [with the state of Minnesota], as required by Minnesota law,” Brian Evans, Ellison’s press secretary, said. “And secondly, offering debt forgiveness programs they're simply not able to offer.”
The penalties for these companies is a fine of up to $25,000 per violation, while also covering attorney’s fees and injunctive relief.
The attorney general’s office advises borrowers to look for the following red flags when being approached by student loan scammers:
Promises of immediate loan forgiveness or cancellation.
Student loan debt relief companies have no ability to forgive your student loans. Any changes to federal student-loan repayment plans will be made through one of the government’s official loan servicers.
Asking you to sign a power of attorney form.
High up-front fees to apply to loan-repayment programs.
Pressures you into acting immediately by instilling a sense of urgency.
Phrases may include “Call Now!” “Get Your Student Loans Forgiven Now!” “Guaranteed Results!” or “Savings Plan Available for a Limited Time Only!”
Statements about relationships with the government.
Requests for a student’s Federal Student Aid username and password for services.
The U.S. Department of Education advises borrowers against sharing their account log-in credentials.
“Our first priority in resolving any illegal actions is obtaining restitution for consumers harmed by these practices so that they are made whole,” Evans wrote in an email.
Ellison’s office is also concerned that the companies in question might have put borrowers into harmful forbearance or repayment plans, and urges those borrowers to contact their loan services and the Federal Student Aid office.
The phone number for the AG’s office is (651) 296-3353 for the Twin Cities metro area and (800) 657-3787 for greater Minnesota.
The list of companies under investigation are below.
77 Elite LLC
ABS (A Better Solution) Student Loans
Allied Enrollment Centers LLC
Allied Financial Services
Alum Financial LLC, aka Grads Financial
Alumni Help Center
Alumni Support Center
American Doc Prep, Inc.
American Processing Support
Amerifed Doc Prep, LLC
Certified Enrollment Center
Client Processing Services
Cornerstone Doc Pre
Criner Financial Group LLC
Debt Relief Assistance Plus
Documents Done Right
Docupros, aka United Specialists
Education Financial
ENM Consulting Services LLC
Fed Pro, aka Fed Help LLC
Federal Document Assistance Center LLC
Federal Document Preparation Services LLC
Federal Student Loan Doc Prep LLC
Financial Student Services LLC
First Fidelity Services LLC, aka Mabak Enterprises LLC
Freedom Financial Aid
Graduate Doc Center
Liberty Student Loan Forgiveness
Loan Forgiveness Enrollment Center
Marketing Services
National Budget Planners of South Florida, Inc.
National Debt Education Relief
National Debt Relief LLC
National Student Loan Relief, aka My Payment Help Center LLC
Network 46, Inc.
Processing Direct, aka Student Loan Processing Direct
Riverwalk Financial Corporation
Skyway Financial Group
SL Finance
Student Advisors
Student Loan & Savings, aka CT Financial Services
Student Loan Doc
Student Loan Financial Assistance LLC, aka NextStep Financial Debt Settlement LLC
Student Prep Center, aka Common Key
Student Renew LLC
Students Service Center
Unified Document Services LLC
United Students of America
US Debt Relief
U.S. Financial, aka Graduate Resource Network
US Processing Solutions, aka TWZII, Inc.
USA Student Debt Relief
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