Attorney General Coakley Seeks Contact Information for Emerson Students Owed Money From 2009 Settlement

BOSTON - Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office is seeking current contact information for over 700 current and former Emerson College students who are owed money under a settlement the office reached with the college in July 2009 concerning Emerson's student lending practices. Pursuant to the settlement, over 3,000 Emerson students have already received payments totaling over half a million dollars. The Attorney General's Office is trying to obtain current addresses for former Emerson graduate and undergraduate students who have not received a settlement check. Eligible students are those who:

• Borrowed Stafford loans from either Citizens Bank or Chase for academic years 2004-2005, 2005-2006 or 2006-2007
• OR, borrowed private loans from Education Finance Partners (EFP) for academic years 2005-2006 or 2006-2007.

Eligible students are encouraged to contact the Attorney General's Insurance & Financial Services Division at 1-888-830-6277 by April 15, 2010.

The 2009 settlement follows a Massachusetts investigation which found that Emerson had steered students to borrow from "preferred" Stafford lenders that gave undisclosed gratuities and inducements to Emerson and its financial aid staff, but did not provide Emerson's students with competitive loan terms. Pursuant to the settlement, over 4,000 current and former undergraduate and graduate students are to receive payments ranging from $25 to $839. Attorney General Coakley's Office calculated restitution amounts based on the additional interest charges and fees that students paid as a result of taking Stafford loans from Citizens and Chase rather than less expensive Stafford lenders. The settlement also requires Emerson to return nearly $5,000 to students who borrowed from Education Finance Partners, Inc. ("EFP") while Emerson received revenue sharing payments from EFP.

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