CT, NY attorneys general seek federal forgiveness of ITT Tech student loans

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and his New York counterpart Letitia James have joined a coalition of their peers from 24 states and the District of Columbia in urging the U.S. Department of Education to cancel federal student loan debt of individuals who attended ITT Technical Institute.

In their letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the attorneys general pointed out his department has the ability to void federal student loans if borrowers were deceived in obtaining loans.

The now defunct for-profit ITT Tech was accused of defrauding thousands of students by encouraging them to borrow loans based on false and misleading information about the value of their education and their career opportunities after graduation.

Last September, Tong and James announced that their states were receiving $292,874 and $5 million, respectively, as part of a multistate coalition”™s $330 million debt relief settlement for ITT Tech students.

“Students enrolled at ITT Tech looking for an education and instead, the school preyed on their hopes and dreams and left them saddled with debt and empty promises,” Tong said. “These students who were defrauded by ITT Tech are entitled to loan forgiveness from a legal standpoint and also a moral one ”” these students should not have to pay back loans they were deceived into taking out.”

“ITT lied to and exploited students who were simply trying to further their education with false promises of high-paying jobs,” James said. “But all this sham school provided was an education in how to defraud honest, hard-working students. Students should not be on the hook for debt that resulted from ITT”™s lies, which is why our coalition is calling for the Department of Education to wipe the slate clean for these