Biden cancels $6 billion in student loans for 317,000 Americans who were scammed by an art school and brings the aid total to more than $160 billion before the 2024 election.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it has canceled $6 billion in student debt for borrowers who attended the Art Institutes between January 2004 and October 2017.

Numerous lawsuits have accused the US university chain of using “pervasive” methods to attract students, including using former student Serena Williams’ multimillion-dollar salary as a means to distort average alumni salaries. students.

“This institution falsified data, knowingly misled students, and misled borrowers into taking on mountains of debt without leading to promising career prospects upon graduation,” President Joe Biden said in a release on the latest round of student loan relief.

The Biden Department of Education will automatically forgive the loans of 317,000 people who attended an Art Institute campus between January 1, 2004 and October 16, 2017.

The latest action comes after the department reviewed evidence from the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Iowa and Pennsylvania, all of whom have previously investigated fraud complaints and sued the for-profit chain.

People walk past the Art Institute of Philadelphia operated by the Education Management Corporation on November 16, 2015, in Philadelphia.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it would cancel $6 billion in student loans for people who attended the Art Institutes, a for-profit college system that closed the last of its campuses in 2023 amid accusations of fraud .

According to the department’s findings, the channel misled students about graduate success and employment partnerships that could help students find jobs after graduation.

The channel told prospective students that more than 80 percent of graduates found jobs in their field of study, but that was largely based on falsified data, the Education Department said. The actual employment rate was lower than 57 percent.

Campuses also announced graduate salaries based on fabricated data and including extreme outliers to make averages look better, the department said.

Tennis icon Williams studied fashion at the Arts Institute campus in Florida.

The chain’s tactics led borrowers to borrow high amounts for programs that were not repaid, the ministry said.

“Arts institutes tapped into the hopes of students trying to improve their lives through education,” said Richard Cordray, director of operations for the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid.

“We can’t replace the time stolen from these students, but we can ease the burden of their debt.”

On Wednesday, the Department of Education will begin sending emails to borrowers who will have their loans canceled. They will not have to take any action and payments already made on the loans will be reimbursed.

At its peak, the chain had dozens of campuses across the country, including New York, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles. It was operated for decades by Education Management Corp., which collapsed in 2018 after years of legal troubles.

Numerous lawsuits have accused the university of using “pervasive” methods to attract students, including using alumna Serena Williams’ multimillion-dollar salary as a way to distort average alumni salaries .

The company reached a $95.5 million settlement with the Justice Department in 2015 over allegations of illegal recruiting tactics. Soon after, it began closing campuses and then sold the rest to another company.

The final eight campuses were closed last year.

The Biden administration has continued to forgive student loans through several existing programs, while pursuing a broader plan for one-time forgiveness. This plan follows one that the Supreme Court rejected last year.

In total, the Democratic administration says it has approved the cancellation of nearly $160 billion in student loans, including through programs aimed at government workers and people defrauded by their schools.