A settlement between the state of Indiana and a loan program used by ITT Tech will relieve over 600 former students of student loan debt.
Attorney General Curtis Hill sued Student CU Connect, a private lender also known as CUSO, for misleading students about certain details of their loans once the balance came due and also using abusive lending practices.
Hill said ITT and CUSO pressured students into taking credit that would help pay for whatever a federal student loan could not cover for tuition, but failed to inform students that the credit would be due before the end of the academic year, not six months after graduating like with a federal loan.
The lawsuit filed by Hill accused ITT of using pressure tactics such as pulling students out of class and threatening to expel them if they did not accept the loan terms.
“This settlement holds CUSO accountable for its participation with ITT in subjecting ITT students to abusive lending practices,” Hill said. “It provides relief to hundreds of Indiana students who attended ITT Tech and incurred massive debts for an education and loans they could not repay nor discharge.”
The settlement will see $5 million split between 602 Hoosier students to cover their outstanding loans from CUSO. The loan servicer has also agreed to cease doing business.
ITT Tech filed for bankruptcy in 2016 after the U.S. Department of Education restricted ITT’s access to federal student aid.
