5,500 Ohioans Eligible For Student Loan Cancellation

CLEVELAND, OH - Nearly 5,500 Ohioans may qualify for student loan cancellation as a result of Corinthian Colleges historic restitution penalties. A California judge ordered the for-profit education institute to pay $820 million for students and civil penalties and $350 million for illegal advertising in March 2016.

The Corinthian Colleges brands included Everest Institute, Everest College, Everest University, Heald College, and WyoTech. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine estimates that approximately 5,490 Ohioans attended one of the colleges. Those impacted by the Corinthian Colleges decision will receive a letter from the state indicating they are eligible for student loan cancellation or relief.

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Corinthian Colleges ceased all operations in April 2015. The for-profit institution closed all 28 of its remaining campuses across the nation. DeWine says the company then transferred some of its campuses to a nonprofit called the Zenith Education Group.

A San Francisco-based judge ordered the company to pay $820 million for students and civil penalties and $350 million for illegal advertising, the Los Angeles Times reported. The judge found that Cornthian Colleges had misled both students and investors by inflating the job placement rate of graduates.

”Colleges like ours fill an important role in the broader education system and address a critical need that remains largely unmet by community colleges and other public sector schools,“ said Jack Massimino, CEO of Corinthian, in a press release still posted to the company's website. ”Overall, our schools did a good job for the students they served. We made every effort to address regulators’ concerns in good faith. Neither our Board of Directors, our management, our faculty, nor our students believe these schools deserved to be forced to close.“

The press release also said that Corinthian's "historic graduation rate and job placement rates" compared favorably with community colleges.

The US Department of Education conducted an investigation into the abrupt closure of Corinthian and found that while the colleges were operating, the institutions made widespread misrepresentations of post-graduation employment rates. This occurred between 2010 and 2014.

Any students that were impacted by the fraud, according to the US Department of Education's findings, are eligible for a "streamlined" discharging of federal student loans. Lists of the impacted programs and dates of enrollment are available on the Federal Student Aid’s website: Everest and WyoTech and Heald.

If you believe you were impacted by Corinthian's deceptive advertising, but don't see your program or enrollment dates listed on the Federal Student Aid website, you can apply for student loan relief by clicking here.

“We want people to know about this opportunity,” DeWine said in a release. “If you qualify for this program, apply through the US Department of Education, and get your federal student loan canceled, you won’t have to make additional payments on the loan, and you’ll be refunded for payments you already made.”

However, just because you've applied for the student loan relief doesn't mean the loans automatically disappear. You should continue making payments on the loan(s) until the Department of Education or your loan provider notifies you of its decision.

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