PITTSBURGH — More than 1,400 former Pennsylvania ITT Tech students were awarded $11.9 million in debt relief in a multi-state settlement Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday.
The settlement is with PEAKS Trust, a private loan program run by the for-profit college and affiliated with Deutsche Bank entities.
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In 2016, ITT Tech closed and filed for bankruptcy after investigations by state attorneys general. The U.S. Department of Education restricted ITT’s access to federal student aid.
>>RELATED: ITT Technical Institute closing all schools, including Pittsburgh
The school operated 130 for-profit schools nationwide, including one in Pittsburgh and one in Tarentum.
“This settlement will provide debt relief for more than 1,400 hardworking students in Pennsylvania who were pressured and coerced into accepting loans from PEAKS for fear of losing the credits they had earned,” said Shapiro.
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Under the settlement, PEAKS has agreed that it will stop collection of the outstanding loans and stop doing business.
PEAKS will send notices to borrowers about the cancelled debt and will stop automatic payments.
Students do not need to do anything to receive the debt relief. Former students with questions can get in touch with PEAKS at customerservice@peaksloans.com or 866-747-0273, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at 855-411-2372.
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