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News 8 finds CEO sued for deceiving customers back in business

College students looking to get relief from mounting student loan debt – beware. A local company promising to reduce or eliminate your debt may be making promises they can’t keep. And the man making the promises has been in trouble before.

News 8 Investigates

DALLAS – College students looking to get relief from mounting student loan debt – beware. A local company promising to reduce or eliminate your debt may be making promises they can’t keep. And the man making the promises has been in trouble before.

Ten years ago, Douglas Van Arsdale of Dallas ran Credit Solutions of America, the largest debt consolidation company in the country.

After hundreds of complaints in at least eight states and multiple lawsuits, the business closed.

But Van Arsdale is back and so are the complaints, only the names have changed -- including his own.

Credit Solutions of America was the subject of a 2009 ABC News investigation.

The Richardson-based debt consolidation company was being sued by attorneys general from Texas and around the country for making promises it could not keep.

Credit Solutions and its CEO Doug Van Arsdale was fined and ordered to pay claimants millions of dollars. Credit Solutions closed.

But now, across the country a new and similar operation is starting to emerge.

Nicole Keating, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, says she’s been cheated by a different Dallas-area company called StudentLoans101.org.

“They promised me a low monthly payment for 20 years, and after 20 years, the rest would be forgiven,” Keating told News 8.

The consolidation company convinced her to pay nearly $100 a month to access government-sponsored programs to pay off her college loan.

But after seven months, she learned her debt was still the same.

“I paid them six-to-seven hundred dollars to do absolutely nothing,” Keating said.

Bobbi Dean, of Seymour, Indiana, says she was paying StudentLoans101.org nearly $50 dollars a month.

“That would pay their fees and they would do the paperwork for me and they would get my loans completely wiped out,” she said.

A few months later, she, too, found out that nothing had been done to pay off her college debt. She called StudentLoans101.org and asked for her money back. A female answered.

“I asked her twice to give me my money back,” Dean said. “She said no.”

What Dean and Keating say was happening to them was not unique, according to a former StudentLoans101.org employee, who asked us to protect his identity.

“After two or three months, people would call back and say nothing has happened, ‘I’m still getting letters from my previous collectors. You guys haven’t contacted them.'" the former employee said.

He says not long after he started, he noticed the elusive behavior of the CEO, Douglas Michael.

When the complaints from clients started piling up, he decided to dig into Michael’s past.

He found out that his boss’ real name is Douglas Van Arsdale, former CEO of Credit Solutions of America and another company called 1-888-Lending.

“I just did a search one day and I saw his picture where he was the 888-Lending CEO,” the former employee said. “He has all these lawsuits against him in other states and operated other businesses.”

And just like Credit Solutions of America, the complaints against StudentLoans101.org have been piling up with the Better Business Bureau of Dallas. The Bureau did its own undercover investigation, posing as a student needing help with a loan.

“In this particular case, the company told us [...] that we could significantly decrease the amount of the debt and that we could enroll in some government programs, prior to asking us what the criteria was about and whether or not we met it,” said Phylissia Landix, spokesperson for the BBB serving Dallas and Northeast Texas.

Landix says StudentLoans101.org never filed a loan reduction application in their case.

She says that, as of this week, the company has 13 complaints on file and until recently had a rating of “F.”

StudentLoans101.org’s website lists its corporate address as a sleek office complex on Keller Springs Road in Addison. But the receptionist there said the company does not have an actual office there; it only uses the mailing address.

News 8 found Van Arsdale, going by the name Douglas Michael, at a more modest office complex off East Arapaho Road in Richardson.

After weeks of requesting an interview with him, we caught up with him walking to his car. Van Arsdale left without commenting.

StudentLoans101.org clients we talked to say they can’t get their calls or emails returned.

The BBB says upset clients may be out of luck, and advise everyone to always check with them or do other research online before signing on the dotted line.

“If anybody tells you that they can guarantee that you are going to get your student loan wiped clean or that they are going to significantly decrease it, that definitely is a red flag,” Landix said.

What you need to know:

If you think you have been treated unfairly and want to file a Better Business Bureau complaint, click here.

According to the Department of Education, it’s rare to have your entire student loan balance forgiven.

What’s important to note here is federal student loan repayment plans are free.

You can sign up for a government-sponsored repayment plan on the Department of Education’s website.

From the Department of Education:

Have you seen ads offering help with your federal student loans that seem too good to be true? They probably are. Many debt relief companies charge exorbitant fees for these services and often solicit unsuspecting borrowers online and through mobile ads, social media, phone calls—and even mail sent to your home.

If you took out federal student loans to pay for college, you never have to pay to get help managing your student loan debt. The U.S. Department of Education provides free assistance to help you:

  • lower or cap your monthly loan payment;
  • see if you qualify for loan forgiveness;
  • consolidate your federal loans; and
  • get advice on getting out of default.

Watch the Secretary of Education discuss student loan management operations:

Before You Leave, Check This Out