Veterans to receive $60 million settlement after being charged excess student loan interest

Veterans.
(Image credit: George Frey/Getty Images)

Military veterans who were illegally charged too much interest on their student loans will receive anywhere from $10 to $100,000 in refunds.

The Department of Justice secured $60 million in refunds for 77,795 veterans who were overcharged by the student loan service provider formerly known as Sallie Mae, The Hill reports. Now called Navient Corp., the company will begin to issue refunds in June, with the Department of Justice saying the average veteran will receive $770.

Navient agreed to settle with the Department of Justice last year after it was charged with violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by not capping interest rates at 6 percent for certain loans. It was the first time a student loan company was sued by the federal government on these charges.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.