Minnesota Attorney General investigating over 50 student loan companies for ‘repayment’ scams

Emily Baude KSTP
(KSTP-TV)

The Office of the Minnesota Attorney General is investigating 52 student-loan debt-relief companies who allegedly violated Minnesota law by misstating their services.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a press release on Wednesday that the companies, who are mostly based in California, are suspected of violating consumer protection laws by misrepresenting their fees and services, as well as falsely promoting student-loan forgiveness.

Minnesotans just want to be able to afford their lives, and the cost of student loans that too many borrowers have to take out is already too high. The fact that fraudsters prey on borrowers by charging exorbitant fees and making promises they can’t deliver on is offensive. We’ve held companies like this accountable before and we’re doing it again. I encourage any Minnesotan who’s been preyed upon by a company promising to help them forgive their student loans to contact my office so we can hold that company accountable.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

Since at least 2016, the office of AG Ellison has recovered and returned millions of dollars in “repayment scams” belonging to Minnesota consumers, according to the press release.

The 52 companies that AG Ellison is investigating are:

  1. 77 Elite LLC 
  2. ABS (A Better Solution) Student Loans 
  3. Allied Enrollment Centers LLC 
  4. Allied Financial Services 
  5. Alum Financial LLC, aka Grads Financial 
  6. Alumni Help Center 
  7. Alumni Support Center 
  8. American Doc Prep, Inc. 
  9. American Processing Support 
  10. Amerifed Doc Prep, LLC 
  11. Certified Enrollment Center 
  12. Client Processing Services 
  13. Cornerstone Doc Pre 
  14. Criner Financial Group LLC 
  15. Debt Relief Assistance Plus 
  16. Documents Done Right 
  17. Docupros, aka United Specialists 
  18. Education Financial 
  19. ENM Consulting Services LLC 
  20. Fed Pro, aka Fed Help LLC 
  21. Federal Document Assistance Center LLC 
  22. Federal Document Preparation Services LLC 
  23. Federal Student Loan Doc Prep LLC 
  24. Financial Student Services LLC 
  25. First Fidelity Services LLC, aka Mabak Enterprises LLC 
  26. Freedom Financial Aid 
  27. Graduate Doc Center 
  28. Liberty Student Loan Forgiveness 
  29. Loan Forgiveness Enrollment Center 
  30. Marketing Services 
  31. National Budget Planners of South Florida, Inc. 
  32. National Debt Education Relief 
  33. National Debt Relief LLC 
  34. National Student Loan Relief, aka My Payment Help Center LLC 
  35. Network 46, Inc. 
  36. Processing Direct, aka Student Loan Processing Direct 
  37. Riverwalk Financial Corporation 
  38. Skyway Financial Group 
  39. SL Finance 
  40. Student Advisors 
  41. Student Loan & Savings, aka CT Financial Services 
  42. Student Loan Doc 
  43. Student Loan Financial Assistance LLC, aka NextStep Financial Debt Settlement LLC 
  44. Student Prep Center, aka Common Key 
  45. Student Renew LLC 
  46. Students Service Center 
  47. Unified Document Services LLC 
  48. United Students of America 
  49. US Debt Relief 
  50. U.S. Financial, aka Graduate Resource Network 
  51. US Processing Solutions, aka TWZII, Inc. 
  52. USA Student Debt Relief 

The Office of the Minnesota Attorney General has released guidelines for Minnesotans to understand their rights when it comes to student loan repayment. These guidelines also tell borrowers what to look for when avoiding potential student-loan scammers, such as:

  • Promises of immediate loan forgiveness or cancellation. Any changes to student loan repayment plans are made through official government loan servicers.
  • Asking you to sign a power of attorney form.
  • High up-front fees to apply to loan-repayment programs.
  • Pressure to act immediately by installing a sense of urgency using phrases like “Call now!” and “Guaranteed results!”
  • Statements about relationships with the government.
  • Requests for a student’s Federal Student Aid username and password for services.

People who want to report fraudulent behavior or other experiences with student-loan debt-relief companies may contact Attorney General Ellison’s office by calling (651) 296-3353 (Metro area) or (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota), by completing a Consumer Assistance Request Form online, or by writing the Office at 445 Minnesota St., Suite 1400, Saint Paul MN 55101.