Legal Issues

CO Residents Indicted After Defrauding Hundreds of Student Loan Debtors

CO Residents Indicted After Defrauding Hundreds of Student Loan Debtors

Two Colorado residents have been indicted on federal charges after defrauding hundreds of student loan debtors. 

According to an official release from the IRS, Jalon Torres and Lisa Marie Ritter, of Colorado Springs, were indicted after appearing before a grand jury this week. Beginning in 2015, Torres, who worked as a registered agent for the Student Resolution Center, LLC (SRC), devised a scheme to defraud student loan recipients.

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Credit: Getty Images

Torres fraudulently promised debtors that all or part of their student loan debt would be eliminated if they made a certain number of payments to the SRC. He and various co-conspirators would call victims in a bid to convince them that their claims of student loan forgiveness were legitimate. Torres received authorization from his victims to withdraw funds from their bank accounts, but then took out more money than the agreed upon sums.

The SRC -- and Torres himself -- pocketed over $1 million from hundreds of students who were scammed. Both Torres and Ritter then used the proceeds they received to purchase a high-end residence and a luxury vehicle.  

United States Magistrate Judge James P. O'Hara presided over Ritter's initial court appearance in Denver on April 11, 2023. Torres was arrested in Florida. He is expected to appear in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in the near future, though an exact court date has not been publicly confirmed. 

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Credit: Getty Images

This case is the result of a joint investigation among the IRS Criminal Investigation division, the FBI, and the Department of Education Office of Inspector General. 

Under United States law, all defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.

What do you think about this student loan fraud case?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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