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US Marshals are arresting people who haven't paid back their student loans

One Houston resident said he was arrested for his $1,500 loan

Justin Carissimo New York
@JstnMchl
Tuesday 16 February 2016

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-marshals-are-arresting-people-who-havent-paid-back-student-loans-a6877696.html/

US Marshals in Houston are arresting residents who are behind on paying their student loan debt.

Paul Aker told Fox 26 Houston that he was arrested by seven deputies with automatic weapons—for a $1,500 student loan he received back in 1987.

“I was wondering, ‘Why are you here? I’m home and I haven’t done anything… Why are the Marshals knocking on my door?’ It’s amazing,” he said.

Mr Aker says he was arrested without being read his rights, placed in shackles and taken to the downtown federal courthouse where he spent several hours in a holding cell.

Later, he was taken to court surrounded by "70 Marshals" where he was made to sign a payment agreement.

Representative Gene Green said that it’s troubling to see private debt collectors use US Marshals to go after people who owe student loans.

“There's bound to be a better way to collect on a student loan debt that is so old,” Mr Green told Fox. “The federal government is now using private debt collectors to go after those who owe student loans.”

The US Marshals issued a statement on Tuesday saying that they were required to serve a civil process to Mr Aker as directed by the federal courts.

“Since November 2012, US Marshals had made several attempts to serve a show cause order to Paul Aker to appear in federal court, including searching at numerous known addresses. Marshals spoke with Aker by phone and requested he appear in court, but Aker refused. A federal judge then issued a warrant for Aker's arrest for failing to appear at a December 14, 2012, hearing,” they said in a statement on Tuesday, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"It is the responsibility of the US Marshals to serve civil processes at direction of the federal courts. These civil processes include summonses for individuals to appear in court to address delinquent federal loans, including student, agricultural and other loans made by federal agencies.”

A source familiar with the US Marshals in Houston told the news station that nearly 1,500 warrants will be served to folks who are behind on payments.

The average student loan debt for 2015 graduates in the US has reached $35,000, according to an analysis by Edvisors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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US Marshals make arrests over non-payment of student loans
http://www.rt.com/usa/332657-marshals-arrest-student-loans/
------------------------------
February 12, 2016

Government will prosecute those who fail to repay their student loans on time, warns Jo Johnson
New plans come into place as the higher education system looks set to take on more students than ever before.

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/government-will-prosecute-those-who-fail-to-repay-their-student-loans-on-time-warns-jo-johnson-a6869221.html/

Thank you for shopping for an education in The United States of America.
If you can't not find a job we will find you.

Have a pleasant day.


It is insanity

Humm he had over 20 years to pay back a government loan, which he never did.. That is federal offense stealing from the government...


And for that amount the offenses carries....$1,500 or more but less than $20,000 State jail felony...

When you owe the IRS money they can take what ever they want to to get their money back.. Which is part of our Government..

This guy borrowed the money you can not tell me he thought it was paid for.. he knew it was not. Just was not to bright to steal from the government. That is basically what he did by borrowing from the government.

All I can say he is lucky they are just making him pay it back instead of Jail/Prison time..

Sure they should have went after his azz long time ago instead.. But when you owe the Government there is no time limit when they can collect or how they do it..

You borrow it you pay it back...

Even private debt collectors contact people either by phone or mail... Wonder how many notices he received and did not answer or threw them away?? Some where there has to be something showing they had tried to contact him..

Let me get this straight this guy owed 1,500.00 dollars and they spent how much to collect it..

Yeppers that is our Gov. at their finest...

now here is a real prime example of misusing powers... when the marshals go and arrest someone for owing money for student loan but are more than willing to fund these organized criminals in other countries...WOW!!! OOPS MY BAD... They needed those funds too for those corrupt individuals as well...

here's the real story, what you heard was akers version...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/paul-aker-us-marshal-student-loan-debt-arrest-212047386.html;_ylt=AwrTcdXML8VWgoEArSAnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTEzcGVjazV2BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDUTRCQ0sxXzEEc2VjA3Ny

We’re scratching our heads over a story out of Houston, where a man named Paul Aker claims half a dozen U.S. Marshals showed up at his home last week and hauled him off in handcuffs — all because of a 29-year-old student loan debt. The amount he owed: just $1,500.

Aker, who was joined by local Rep. Gene Green, told his story to a local Fox news affiliate, claiming he never knew he owed student loan debt in the first place.

Several news outlets picked up the story, painting a dramatic scene in which “U.S. Marshals armed with automatic weapons” arrested Aker “for not paying a $1,500 student loan from three decades ago.” Another outlet even tried to tie Aker’s case to ongoing student loan protests led by disgruntled students who attended shady for-profit institutions.

This all makes for a compelling headline, but Yahoo Finance has learned the true story is much different.

Back in November 2006, Aker was sued by the federal government for nonpayment of more than $2,600 in unpaid federal student loan debt, according to documents from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (embedded below). The court record shows that Aker, listed as Winford P. Aker in the complaint, did not appear in court to answer the lawsuit and, as is common when student loan borrowers fail to appear, the presiding judge ruled against him and ordered Aker to pay the full balance on April 17, 2007.

According to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service, Aker repeatedly refused to show up in court after being contacted several times. The agency said Aker told them by phone he would not appear in court to answer the summons. Disobeying a court order is a criminal offense. Within a few months, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest, which the U.S. Marshals carried out. So, yes, Aker was arrested, but not just because he owed a little student loan debt. He was arrested for disobeying a court order.

The Marshals statement goes on to describe the arrest, saying Aker "resisted arrest and retreated back into his home" when agents arrived:

"The situation escalated when Aker verbally said to the deputies that he had a gun. After Aker made the statement that he was armed, in order to protect everyone involved, the deputies requested additional law enforcement assistance. Additional deputy marshals and local law enforcement officers responded to the scene. After approximately two hours, the law enforcement officers convinced Aker to peacefully exit his home, and he was arrested."

In the end, Aker went to court and was released. As far as we know, he did not spend any time in jail. Aker claims he was never notified about the order and that could very well be true. His address listed on the complaint is different than the only listing for a "Winford P. Aker" Yahoo Finance found in the Houston area. His court summons may have been sent to an old address (efforts to reach Aker were unsuccessful). However, the U.S. Marshals Service maintains they made every effort to track him down, "including searching at numerous known addresses."

It’s not clear why it took the Marshals more than three years to track him down, but the fact is he was arrested for failure to appear in court — not for his unpaid debt alone.

Jan Kruse, spokeswoman for the National Consumer Law Center, says cases like Aker's are not uncommon. If you ignore your student loan bills long enough, your loan servicer can sue you in civil court, which is what happened to Aker.

"If you receive a court summons, you should take it seriously," Kruse says.

U.S. Marshals commonly serve civil processes to include summonses to appear in court over outstanding federal debt. In Houston, there are approximately 1,500 people who have been identified for not appearing in court to address their outstanding federal student loans, which has resulted in a judge issuing warrants for their arrest, according to the Marshals Service.

Unforunately, it looks like it was a lapse in communication that landed Aker in handcuffs (to be clear, he did not spend time in jail — he was escorted by Marshals to court). And, to add insult to injury, he was ordered to pay more than $1,200 in fees back to the U.S. Marshals service for the cost of arresting him.

We were unable reach Aker for comment. We also reached out to Rep. Green’s office, but haven’t heard back.

Know your options

Aker's case is an extreme one but it might have been avoidable.

“I can’t say it more emphatically enough — there’s no need to allow it to get to that point with all the [repayment] options available,” says Betsy Mayotte, a consumer outreach director for advocacy group American Student Assistance. Federal student loan borrowers struggling to repay their debt may qualify for special repayment programs based on their income or have their loans consolidated. Despite these flexible options, the government has struggled to get the word out to borrowers.

There’s another reason Aker’s story probably struck a chord — some shady debt collectors have illegally posed as federal agents to scare borrowers into paying back their debts.

Just a couple of years ago, the FBI and U.S. Attorney General took down a company that made $4.1 million off such a scheme, duping 6,000 victims into believing they were associated with the U.S. Marshals Service as well as other bogus federal agencies like the “Federal Government Task Force” and the “DOJ Task Force.”

This tactic is used in all areas of debt collection, not just student loans, says Mayotte.

“If you’re contacted by someone threatening legal action over federal student loans, you should know there are consumer-friendly ways to resolve federal student loan debt,” she says. But if you do receive notification that you’re being sued and there’s a court date, show up.

“If you don't show up,” she says, “you don't have the opportunity to defend yourself.”

See the original complaint against Aker below:

*Due to a reporting error, we stated Aker was sued in November 2007. It was November 2006.

Thanks mightymoe see the difference when the whole story comes out..

So now people may see the situation a bit different..

I had heard about the story before I read this thread which the whole story was told...

I'm sorry but I still fell the guy got off lucky..

The problem I see with this is that given the fact that the federal government uses the theory of promissory note to secure legal interest into the loan, then by operation of 18 USC 13, (which states where, if, no federal statute comments on a legal issue, then the law of the state controls as federal law), and the fact that every state in the union has a statute on the books that sets a statute of limitations upon which a lender may collect a debt secured by contract, It then would follow that the matter was dead to begin with. As for contempt of court- contempt of court only follows IF, and ONLY IF, there is valid proof of service of a summons, which was apparently the supposed issue, meaning that technically no contempt was committed. That said, this was one of those rare cases where a Habeas Writ was called for, and most likely would have been granted with the potential for false arrest damages, as the U.S. Marshall's service should have reasonably known that the warrant was issued under less than honest pretenses, thus subjecting them to the potential for a civil action pursuant to Bivens V. Six Unknown Agents.

sounds more like arrested for not showing up to court

this guy only lives right down the street from me...

Owe ya money?

Our students loans are taking out of our wages with the taxes until it's paid.
It is interest free of we work in NZ but if we don't we have to pay interest.

I like it that way then I know it's getting paid

If we die the debt gets cancelled.

Thanks for clearing that up MighyMoe

no worries,'The Burn' will fix all that!

lots more than him...lol

all sorts of versions!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/u-s-marshals-arresting-people-not-paying-student-loans-article-1.2533153

........ The average student loan debt for 2015 graduates is approximately $35,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Aker said he was never read his rights during the ordeal. He is in the process of finding a lawyer.

"I am still shaken," he said. "I had to go to work yesterday, and it was hard to drive to work, for the fear of someone coming. I am looking out the window and I have things to do today, and I am still afraid to go outside."

Amazingly, U.S. Marshals are planning to serve up to 1,500 warrants to people who have not repaid their loans, according to Fox 26.

Texas Rep. Gene Green, a Democrat, said it's worrisome that lawyers and debt collectors are able to use U.S. Marshals as muscle to collect these loans.

"There's bound to be a better way to collect on a student loan debt that is so old," Green told told Fox 26.

A call to the U.S. Marshals has not yet been returned.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/paul-aker-us-marshal-student-loan-debt-arrest-212047386.html

Note to self: Bookmark & laugh later

Government hates Competition from Wannabe-Thieves!

IMO that's about the only relevant info in the article.

So ultimately what happened is little different than what can occur when ignoring a speeding ticket.

People have been served bench warrants and arrested for less than $1,500 bucks.

What's that "poem?"
Seems relevant to owing the government money.

"My btch better have my money,
thru rain, sleet or snow.
my ho better have my money
not half, not sum, but all, my cash
because if she dont
I'm gonna put my foot
dead in her azz."
- flyguy

Debtors prisons violate the very concept of the founding of this country.
They also violate constitutional law.

So?
Where are the arrestees to be 'detained',?



And, didn't president Obonzo "promise", that student loan debt would be forgiven, after a set time?