A new lawsuit filed by the CFPB in a California federal district court alleges that the defendants, a company and its individual owner, are engaged in a nationwide student financial aid scam.  In addition to injunctive relief, the complaint seeks redress for harmed consumers and civil money penalties.

According to the CFPB’s complaint, the defendants contacted students and their families using letters and envelopes with images intended to create the false impression that the defendants were affiliated with the federal government or a college. … Continue Reading

Last week, the CFPB released to the public a memo it had sent to consumers and industry members who participated in its “Know Before You Owe” student loan project reporting on the feedback it received. The project, described as the product of the CFPB’s partnership with the Department of Education (“DOE”), solicited comments on a “financial aid shopping sheet” which was actually a draft model financial aid form.… Continue Reading

Recycling the “Know Before You Owe” theme of its mortgage loan disclosure project, the CFPB has launched a new student loan project on its web site which it describes as the product of a partnership between the CFPB and the U.S. Department of Education.

The CFPB is looking for feedback on what is actually a draft financial aid offer form, which it calls a “financial aid shopping sheet,” that a college or university would provide to a student who has applied for financial aid.… Continue Reading