Student 'debt-strikers' get a meeting with the US Department of Education

The Corinthian 15, a group of students from the Corinthian College for-profit system who are are refusing to pay back their student loans, has expanded to the Corinthian 100.

They are now a 100-person cohort who claim Corinthian College used manipulative financial tactics while providing them with a subpar education.

And they've got a meeting with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a representative of the Department of Education (DOE) on Tuesday to discuss their "student debt strike," according to one of their representatives.

"We're bringing about 12 of the strikers from around the country to meet with CFPB officials, and the Department of Ed are sending a representative as well, and we are going to ask them to cancel the debt," said Ann Larson, an organizer at the The Debt Collective, an all-volunteer group working alongside the Corinthian 100 to get their federal student loans torn up.

The CFPB wants to hear from students personally about how they were allegedly defrauded by Corinthian and what they can do to be of assistance, according to Larson.

Prior to 2014, Corinthian Colleges Inc. was a network of more than 100 schools and one of the largest for-profit college companies in the US. But numerous investigations and lawsuits alleging wrongdoing against the company rapidly decreased its size. In July 2014, an agreement with the US Department of Education (DOE) forced Corinthian to sell 85 of its schools and close another 12.

After litigation was brought against the company and many of the colleges closed, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the DOE worked together to secure $480 million in debt relief to students of Corinthian. But that aid only covered private student loan debt.

Now they're asking the DOE to forgive their federal loans, too.

"It's a massive, massive crime that is alleged against Corinthian and tens of thousands of students, hundreds of thousands, have been caught in this debt trap," Larson said, "and it certainly deserves the attention of the top officials."

Last year, Corinthian Colleges issued a statement in response to the CFPB lawsuit asserting the agency's "complaint ignores clear, easily obtainable evidence that thousands of Corinthian graduates are hired into permanent positions by large and small employers across the US every year."

We reached out to representatives for Corinthian Colleges and the US Department of Education, and we'll update this post if we receive responses.