In Case You Missed It: A National Spotlight On ITT’s Fraud and Abuse | Blog
Last month, we released “Dreams Destroyed: How ITT Technical Institute Defrauded a Generation of Students” — a report featuring hundreds of pages of evidence documenting ITT Tech’s massive scale fraud.
Nearly 200 pages, it’s a deep dive into the many ways ITT systematically defrauded borrowers, including false promises of gainful employment, harmful and predatory enrollment practices, and a blatant prioritization of profit over education. The report details unequivocally that ITT systematically and brazenly lied to students in order to profit from their federal financial aid.
The fact that any ITT debt still remains is unconscionable. That’s why we sent the report directly to Education Secretary Cardona in a letter and called for him to cancel all ITT debt immediately. And while the Department of Education has yet to take any action, the report has continued to gain traction.
NPR called the report “an exhaustive deep dive into ITT Tech’s fraudulent practice.” Forbes states that it “highlights [the] need to protect student loan borrowers with stronger regulation of for-profit colleges”. And Senate staffers have called it the best report since the HELP report.
In fact, just last week, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois used his time on the Senate floor to bring the “Dreams Destroyed” report before his Congressional colleagues.
The Senator talked about the evidence of abuse outlined in the report and the gross corruption of ITT executives.
“Prospective students were lied to and bombarded with high pressure tactics to get them to enroll and sign up for more and more and more student loans. One former ITT Tech recruiter compared the working conditions to a “sweatshop” where all that mattered was hitting “a quota.” Appallingly, recruiters were instructed to use the “Pain Funnel” they called it – a set of eight questions designed to reveal every prospective students’ vulnerabilities. By identifying a student’s pain points – such as working a dead end-job or feeling unappreciated – recruiters were trained to exploit that pain and present ITT Tech as the solution…The result: Modany and ITT shareholders made millions. Taxpayers got ripped off. Students ended up holding the bag with worthless diplomas and a mountain of student debt, whether they finished or not.”
Senator Durbin, who has been a stalwart defender of student borrowers and their rights, called for the Department of Education to do better.
“There are other ITT Techs out there. For the sake of students and taxpayers, the Education Department under this Administration must begin to use its immense enforcement authority to protect them from swindlers and con-men.”
We couldn’t agree more. The Department of Education has all the evidence it needs to cancel all ITT debt right now – not just a small portion. What’s more, the Department must take steps to ensure that other predatory schools are not permitted to follow the ITT playbook and given a pass to defraud future generations of students. This report shows exactly what is at stake if predatory schools are not held accountable.
Watch Senator Durbin’s remarks: