Blumenthal Urges Service Members and Veterans to Check Their Mailboxes for $60 Million in Refunds for Illegally Inflated Student Loans

77,795 Service Members and Veterans Nationwide to Receive Refund Checks Beginning June 12 Following DOJ Settlement with Sallie Mae Loan Servicer, 713 Service Members and Veterans in Connecticut Are Eligible for Refunds

Average Check $771, Some to Receive As Much as $100,000

Sallie Mae Ignored Service Members Civil Relief Act That Caps Student Loan Interest Rate for Service Members at 6%

(Hartford, CT) –  This morning, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged active duty military and veterans to check their mailboxes beginning June 12 for a major refund after a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found federal student loan servicer Sallie Mae had charged illegal, excessive interest rates on its student loans.

Sallie Mae has agreed to issue $60 million in refunds to 77,975 service members nationwide to settle a complaint brought against them by the U.S. Department of Justice. The complaint alleged that Sallie Mae violated the Service Members Civil Relief Act, which caps student loan interest rates for service members at six percent during their time of active duty. According to the Department of Justice, there are 713 service members with Connecticut addresses who are eligible to receive a check under the settlement.

“Despite full knowledge of their military status, Sallie Mae systemically overcharged our brave service members and veterans for years, in violation of federal law—an egregious and unacceptable violation that is just now being corrected. I urge service members, veterans, and their families who have had loans with Sallie Mae to check their mailboxes starting June 12 for these sizeable checks—hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars they never should have been charged in the first place. Sallie Mae’s actions were a disgrace, and I applaud the Department of Justice for holding them accountable and making our service members, veterans, and their families whole,” Blumenthal said.

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