Marshals explain student loan arrest
The arrest of a Houston man over unpaid student loans followed repeated efforts to get himto appear in court to deal with the issue, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Paul Aker told KRIV-TV, Channel 26, that seven armed marshals in combat gear came to his home Feb. 11. Aker had obtained a $1,500 federal loan in 1987 to attend Prairie View A&M University, he said, but he hadn’t heard anything about it for almost 30 years.
“I was wondering, why are you here?” he said in the interview. “I’m home, I haven’t done anything, and why are the marshals knocking onmy door?”
Aker said he was hand- cuffed and taken to federal court, where he had to wait in a four-by-four cell for a hearing. He signed an agreement to repay the amount he owed on the 29-year-old loan, plus interest, totaling $5,700, and to cover expenses related to the arrest.
Attempts by the Houston Chronicle to contact Aker on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
The marshals service said Aker’s arrest followed a protracted effort to get him to appear in court. The agency said it has been attempting to reach him since 2012.
M.H. Cersonsky, a Houston lawyer who has contracted with the government to take borrowers to court and whose name appears on documents related to Aker’s loan and ar- rest, referred questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A spokeswoman for that office would only confirm that a judge entered an arrest warrant for the defendant’s failure to appear in court. The marshals service said it sent two officers to Aker’s home. When they attempted to arrest him, he resisted and retreated back into the home, the agency said.
“The situation escalated when Aker verbally said to the deputies that he had a gun. After Aker made the statement that he was armed, in order to protect everyone involved, the deputies requested additional law enforcement assistance,” the service said in a statement. “Additional deputy marshals and local law enforcement officers responded to the scene. After approximately twohours, the lawenforcement officers convinced Aker to peacefully exit his home, and he was arrested without further incident.”
The marshals service noted that its duties include serving civil process documents as directed by federal courts. These documents can include orders to appear in court to address delinquent federal student loans.
U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, appeared with Aker in the television interview. Green criticized the agreement that allows the government to contract loan collection to private services. Green’s office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.