Student Debt Company Charged Minnesotans For Free Service: Ellison

ST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Friday he has reached a settlement that forces a "fraudulent" student debt company to leave the state.

The company misrepresented its services to consumers and now provides full refunds to its Minnesota consumers, according to the attorney general.

Based out of California, Total Rain, Inc. — doing business as "Student Aid Group" — set up operations in Minnesota and collected $15,325 from local students, Ellison said.

"Minnesotans take out student loans in good faith so they can get educations that will help them better afford their lives. My office is showing once again that when companies take advantage of that good faith to rip Minnesotans off, we will come after them," Attorney General Ellison said.

"I encourage any Minnesotan who’s been preyed upon by this company or others like it to contact my office so we can hold these bad actors accountable."

The Student Aid Group charged Minnesotan customers money to enroll them in a free federal repayment program, Ellison said, even though the consumers could have enrolled themselves.

The group then pocketed both upfront fees — which are illegal in Minnesota — and monthly fees, the attorney general said.