Student Loan Forgiveness Services from Equitable Acceptance Corp. and Others

In August 2018, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Equitable Acceptance Corp., SLF Center, and Integra Student Solutions for allegedly operating a scheme to sell student loan relief services. Among other things, the complaint alleges that the companies:

• Falsely promise to provide student loan forgiveness services (i.e., ones that eliminate the total balance of student loans) when, according to plaintiffs, the companies cannot get loans forgiven;
• Fail to disclose that services they provide – such as consolidating a borrower’s loans or enrolling a borrower in an Income Driven Repayment plan – are available for free and may actually result in borrowers paying more money;
• Falsely represent that they are affiliated with the United States Department of Education and that they are student loan servicers; and
• Falsely state that financing from Equitable Acceptance Corp. is a “payment plan” without disclosing that the financing is actually a new loan and that monthly payments are used to pay off the new loan instead of student loans.

(Williams et al v. Equitable Acceptance Corp. et al, Case No. 18-cv-7537, S.D.N.Y.)