WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday stated it will cancel $6 billion in trainee loans for individuals who wentto the Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges that closed the last of its schools in 2023 inthemiddleof allegations of scams.
Saying the chain drew trainees with “pervasive” lies, the Education Department is conjuringup its power to cancel trainee loans for customers who were misguided by their colleges.
“This organization falsified information, intentionally deceived trainees, and cheated customers into taking on mountains of financialobligation without leading to appealing profession potentialcustomers at the end of their researchstudies,” President Joe Biden stated in a declaration.
The Education Department will instantly remove loans for 317,000 individuals who wentto any Art Institute school inbetween Jan. 1, 2004, and Oct. 16, 2017.
In overall, the Democratic administration states it hasactually authorized the cancellation of nearly $160 billion in trainee loans through a range of existing programs. Among that overall, $28.7 billion hasactually been canceled for those who were cheated by their colleges or went to schools that allofasudden closed.
The department states it’s taking action after examining proof from the lawyers basic of Massachusetts, Iowa and Pennsylvania, which formerly examined grievances of scams and tooklegalactionagainst the for-profit chain.
According to the department’s findings, the chain deceived trainees about the success of gradua