Bankruptcy Court Approves MN School of Business Settlement

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The long wait is nearly over for several thousand former students of the Minnesota School of Business and Globe University.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has announced $23.6 million in debt relief has been approved for the former students and $15.8 million in restitution is being distributed, with some of the checks expected to be mailed out today now that a bankruptcy court has approved a settlement that as announced in March. The deal resolved a consumer fraud and illegal lending practices lawsuit filed against the defunct private colleges by the state in 2014.

“Starting today, money will finally get back in the pockets of students who were defrauded by MSB’s and Globe’s false claims and charged illegal rates of interest,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I am glad everyone affected will finally get some closure and a measure of justice. I’m very proud of the Attorney General’s Office for fighting and winning one of the biggest consumer-fraud cases we ever filed and one of the only cases against a for-profit college ever brought to trial."

A news release from the State Attorney General's Office says students in the organization’s criminal justice program between 2009 and 2016 who was submitted certified claims for relief will receive cash payments to refund nearly 100 percent of what they paid to attend the program. They will also receive compensation for payments they made on federal student loans, with additional restitution for students who signed up for illegal loans through the schools with interest rates as high as 18 percent.

One of the campuses for the Minnesota School of Business was located in northwest Rochester. The money is being distributed to just 900 former students who enrolled in the criminal justice program and more than 3000 who documented they were harmed through the schools’ illegal loan program.

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