Taming the Wild West: An Examination of Private Student Loan Consolidation Companies' Violations of 43(A) of the Lanham Act by Using Trade Names and Logos that Closely Resemble those Used by the United States Department of Education
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Authors
Larson, Joseph A.
Issue Date
2008
Volume
41
Issue
Type
Journal Article
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION|"Private loans are the Wild West of the student loan industry," according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has been conducting an ongoing investigation of student loan lending companies' business practices since he took office in early 2006. Thus far, Attorney General Cuomo's investigation uncovered the following: student loan lenders and universities had revenue-sharing agreements; lenders provided a pool of private loan money for high-risk borrowers at universities in return for the universities designating the lender as the preferred or exclusive lender for that university; some university financial aid officers had stock in companies appearing on the colleges' preferred-lender lists; financial aid officers also received consulting fees or other perks from lenders on preferred-lender lists; and employees of student loan lenders working in call centers for a college recommended the lender's own loans to students. Attorney General Cuomo also uncovered that student loan lenders paid alumni associations for loans taken by its members and used the alumni association's logo on their mail solicitations. Attorney General Cuomo's investigation centered on student lending companies' deceptive trade practices under the business and consumer laws of the state of New York. As a result of his investigation, Attorney General Cuomo has secured settlements with a number of large student loan consolidation companies...
Description
Citation
41 Creighton L. Rev. 515 (2008)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law