Minnesota attorney general calls for debt forgiveness for students defrauded by for-profit college

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined 24 other state attorneys general in seeking payment refunds and the cancellation of student loans for former students of ITT Technical Institute, a for-profit college that closed in 2016.

The "borrower's defense" application to the U.S. Department of Education requests loan forgiveness for students who borrowed federal money to attend ITT Technical Institute between at least 2007 and 2011. The college misled students about the value of a degree, according to the application.

Under federal law, the U.S. Department of Education can forgive federal student loans for borrowers who were deceived.

More than 1,200 Minnesotans were enrolled at ITT, either online or at one of two Minnesota campuses.

The action is the latest step in a series of actions the Minnesota Attorney General's Office has taken to assist borrowers who were defrauded by ITT and other for-profit colleges.

In October, Ellison reached a settlement with a trust that held $1.6 million in student loans that were issued by ITT. Ellison's office has also filed a claim in ITT's bankruptcy.

In March, Ellison announced a tentative deal that would provide $23 million in federal student loan debt forgiveness and nearly $16 million in cash compensation to 920 former students of the Minnesota School of Business and Globe University who were fraudulently enrolled into the colleges' criminal justice program and issued "unlawful loans."

Ellison this week joined another coalition of 23 attorneys general writing to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to urge more reforms to protect those who borrowed money to attend for-profit and closed colleges.

"I'm proud to join national coalitions fighting for relief because no Minnesotan and no American should be hobbled by outrageous debt when they're just trying to afford their lives," Ellison said in a statement.