La’ James forgives another $462K in Iowa student loans

La’ James International College will forgive almost $462,000 in student loans to settle allegations of financial wrongdoings that continued years after school officials promised to fix them.

• The agreement was one of the final actions announced Friday by outgoing Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

Catch up fast: La’ James is a for-profit school with five Iowa locations, including in Johnston. It has been accused of unfair and deceptive business practices for roughly a decade.

• The allegations include long delays in student financial aid disbursements that forced students into further financial hardships.
• In 2016, La’ James agreed to pay a $550,000 fine, forgive $2.1 million in student debt and submit to state oversight as part of a consumer fraud lawsuit filed by Miller.
• A state report last year concluded that problems continued to persist.

State of play: The latest settlement involved debts for around 116 students.

• The school also agreed to include an explanation about the timing of financial disbursements with future student aid award notices.

What they’re saying: La’ James officials did not respond to a request for comment from Axios.

• The college must do better, Miller said in Friday’s statement.