The Federal Trade Commission is sending 14,521 checks totaling more than $822,000 to borrowers who lost money to a student loan debt-relief scheme that operated under the name Student Advocates.
Consumers who receive checks should cash them within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Recipients who have questions about their refund should call the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 877-540-0989. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.
In September 2019, the FTC filed a complaint against a student loan debt-relief scheme and the financing company that assisted them. The FTC alleged that the operators of Student Advocates, assisted by Equitable Acceptance Corporation, charged illegal upfront fees that they falsely claimed went toward consumers’ student loans. The defendants steered customers into high-interest loans to pay these fees. The FTC also alleged that the defendants made false promises that their services would permanently lower or even eliminate consumers’ student loan payments and debt balances. None of the money collected by the defendants was paid toward consumers’ student loans.
At the time the FTC filed its complaint, it also announced a stipulated final order with Equitable Acceptance Corporation that banned the company from assisting debt-relief services and violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The order also prohibited Equitable Acceptance from collecting any further…
