$119average payout to each borrower in a 2025 FTC distribution to scam victims
On 5 August 2025 the FTC sent $743,230 to 6,269 consumers harmed by a student-loan debt relief scam, about $119 each, nearly two years after the operators were banned in October 2023.
The FTC describes the upfront fees as ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The realistic answer to whether victims get their money back is a fraction of it, years later, if the operation is caught at all.
Source: US Federal Trade Commission. Read more: student loan forgiveness · case file