ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Raw: Sen. Nelson on debt forgiveness
Everest University, which operates four campuses in central Florida, was at the center of lawsuits, both local and federal.
Corinthian Colleges, which owned Everest, was accused by federal agencies of predatory lending. That led the government to force a change.
"But Everest really isn't Everest anymore. In February, the chain of universities was sold and turned into a nonprofit, with the new owners saying they are working with the federal government on loan forgiveness for former students."
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced its own plan for loan forgiveness for former Everest students. The cost is expected to be at least $1 billion and perhaps as much as $3 billion.
"All they were doing was ginning up students, getting them to apply for federal student loans," U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said.
Nelson said the plan by the DOE to forgive the loans of former Everest students is the only way to make some people whole. But, he said, the school's former owners need to be held accountable.
"It's the people that duped the students that have bled the federal government of money. That is stealing," Nelson said.
Senators said safeguards that are in place to keep colleges from exploiting the student loan program were largely ignored for years, and said if the DOE doesn't begin taking a closer look at for-profit colleges, there might be more loans to forgive and money lost.
The new owners of Everest said they are working to provide up to $480 million in debt relief for current students and for former students who enrolled while the college chain was owned by Corinthian.