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The Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission is sending more than $4.1 million in refunds to people who lost money to student loan debt relief scammers who lured consumers with fake loan forgiveness claims and pocketed their money. The scheme used many names including Mission Hills Â鶹´«Ã½, Â鶹´«Ã½ Direct Group, National Secure Processing, and The Student Loan Group.

The FTC filed a complaint against the operators of Mission Hills Â鶹´«Ã½ and Â鶹´«Ã½ Direct Group in 2019, alleging that since 2014 they tricked students into paying hundreds to thousands of dollars in illegal upfront fees and pretended to lower consumers’ monthly student loan payments. The operators also tricked consumers into sending their monthly student loan payments directly to the defendants by falsely claiming to take over the servicing of the consumers’ loans. In reality, few payments were actually applied to consumers’ student loans and in many cases, none at all. Instead, the defendants kept consumers’ money for themselves.

The FTC is sending checks to 27,584 consumers. Recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 1-844-566-0108, or visit the FTC website to view frequently asked questions about the refund process. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.

The Commission’s  provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases. In 2023, FTC actions led to more than $324 million in refunds to consumers across the country million in refunds to consumers across the country.