At 11 a.m. on July 25, 2023, the State of Colorado issued a press release guided by Roy Lowenstein, Press Secretary of the Department of Education (DOE, the Department). The Department and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office provided an update on the Student Loan Forward Defense Action.

Lowenstein was joined by Federal Student Aid Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who provided on-the-record remarks. Senior Advisor to the Chief Officer Kristen Donoghue and Department of Education Deputy Undersecretary Ben Miller fielded questions after the announcement.

Cordray said, “We’re happy to announce today that the US DOE will deliver $130 million of federal student loan relief to about 7,400 students who enrolled in the Colorado campuses of CollegeAmerica between 2006 and 2020. FSA will notify eligible borrowers in August, next month, and they will not need to take any action to receive their loan discharges.”

Weiser investigated CollegeAmerica and built a strong evidentiary record of wrongdoing that formed the basis of the Department’s decision. Testimony from experts, former students, and officials proved that CollegeAmerica falsely advertised inflated salaries and job placements for graduates.

Cordray said there is a shared commitment of protecting students from predatory schools. Weiser thanked him for his support.

Today’s statement from President Joe Biden on Student Debt Relief Action in Colorado:

“From Day One of my Administration, I promised to rebuild the middle class, and to fight for hardworking American families.

“Today, we are taking another significant step to deliver on that promise by canceling $130 million in debt for 7,400 student borrowers who attended CollegeAmerica in Colorado. These borrowers were lied to, ripped off, and saddled with mountains of debt.

“While my predecessor looked the other way when colleges defrauded students and borrowers – I promised to take this on directly, and provide borrowers with the relief they need and deserve. Already under my Administration, we’ve approved $14.7 billion in relief for 1.1 million borrowers whose colleges took advantage of them or closed abruptly – like those students who attended CollegeAmerica in Colorado. And in total, we have approved $116 billion in debt relief for over 3.4 million Americans.

“As long as I am president, we will never stop fighting to deliver relief to borrowers, hold bad actors accountable, and bring the promise of college to more Americans.”

Weiser said CollegeAmerica profited off of thousands of Coloradans, negatively impacting their futures, and his office has been fighting this for over a decade.

“I applaud the Department of Education for providing much-deserved relief to the many Coloradans who were mistreated by CollegeAmerica,” said Colorado Attorney General Weiser. “CollegeAmerica knowingly took advantage of students by luring them into high-priced, low-quality programs with promises of high-earning potential and job placement that it knew were not attainable. Protecting borrowers from predatory lending and helping Coloradans navigate through student loan burdens will continue to be a priority for our office.”

The question and answer portion of the press call revealed that not all student debt will be relieved: only federal student loans, not private loans.

Senior officials said borrowers will receive refunds for the amounts paid to the Secretary in addition to getting a discharge of their loan, excluding commercial sale loans.

When asked what borrowers of other fraudulent institutions should expect in the coming months, senior officials said they cannot talk about pending investigations but there will be more and to stay tuned.

Senior officials said certain executives have been held accountable and no longer own any institutions participating in the Federal Student Aid Program.

The collaboration and hard work of many departments have led to this announcement, proving that state officials are standing firm to safeguard Colorado citizens from powerful institutions that violate the law.