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Feds Offer Debt Relief To Former Corinthian College Students

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — The U.S. Department of Education says more students who were defrauded by the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges can get their loans forgiven.

Students who were defrauded at 91 campuses operating as Everest or WyoTech in 20 states can now apply for forgiveness through the department's website.

One Dorchester student told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz she victimized by Corinthian. She attended Everest in 2012, with aspirations of becoming a medical assistant.

"I feel like it was basic education," she says. "Just enough to get us by."

Months after she finished the course, she was in $21,000 in debt and helping finding jobs never came to fruition. However, through the loan forgiveness program she won't have to pay the remaining $14,000 and also will be eligible for refunds.

Education Secretary John B. King Jr. made the announcement on Friday in Boston with Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. Healey helped uncover evidence that two Everest Institute campuses in Massachusetts misrepresented job placement rates.

Corinthian, a former chain of for-profit colleges, sold or closed its schools last year amid fraud allegations. The education department says it has found fraud at more than 100 campuses.

The department has already approved loan discharges for more than 8,800 of the chain's former students, totaling more than $130 million.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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