Teachers targeted for student loan scam

Boynton Beach company offered false debt help for a fee, AG says.

Boynton company scammed public-sector workers in Palm Beach County, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says in lawsuit.

A Boynton Beach debt relief company scammed public-sector workers in Palm Beach County by falsely promising to help borrowers qualify for student-loan forgiveness, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a suit filed Monday.

In the suit, Bondi names as defendants Integrity Group US Inc., OnlineStudentLoan.org Inc., StudentsLoanServices.org Inc. and Thomas H. Rohan.

The companies used breathless emails and high-pressure pitches to persuade student-loan borrowers to pay upfront fees of $199 to $999, Bondi said.

In one case, Bondi’s suit said, Rohan told a borrower he could cut her monthly student loan payment to just $1.31.

After 10 years, Rohan told her, her balance would disappear.

The borrower paid $399 as a consulting fee, but her monthly payment didn’t fall and Rohan didn’t respond to her requests for a refund, Bondi’s suit said.

Since 2012, Bondi’s suit said, Rohan and his companies ran “an unlawful debt enterprise that has been preying on consumers’ anxiety about student loan debt by falsely promising to eliminate that debt.”

Rohan and his companies targeted government workers and teachers, Bondi’s suit said.

Rohan’s pitches riffed off perfectly legitimate initiatives: The U.S. Department of Education offers a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program that expunges debt for borrowers who stay in government or nonprofit jobs for 10 years.

The federal government also offers a Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program that retires up to $17,500 in student loans for educators who stay on the job for five years.

The federal government expects to forgive more than $100 billion in student loans through such programs, although qualifying for the subsidy requires borrowers to jump through a number of hoops and meet various guidelines.

As a result of the ensuing confusion, the Education Department says on its website, many borrowers have reported receiving pitches from companies offering to navigate the programs for a fee.

“There’s nothing a student loan debt relief company can do for you that you can’t do for yourself for free,” the Education Department says.

Bondi’s suit was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.