Illinois AG Kwame Raoul announces $1.85B settlement with student loan provider Navient

CHICAGO - A number of state attorney generals gathered virtually Thursday morning to discuss a $1.85 billion settlement with a loan servicing company.

The participants included Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and attorney general’s from California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington. Their partnership led to discovering one of the largest student loan scams.

According to The Washington Post, Navient allegedly steered borrowers into costly repayment plans and predatory loans.

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The lending practices date back to when the company was known as Sallie Mae and impacts 39 states.

Raoul acknowledged the importance of this settlement.

"Today's settlement represents a continuation of the important work we've done to address the problems caused by such predatory institutions. Wherever the students attended, Navient's private student loan program buried these students into debt by targeting those unlikely to be able to repay with high-interest loans."

The agreement will deliver $1.7 billion in private student loan cancellation to 66,000 borrowers. Another $95 million will be made in restitution to 350,000 people affected by this.