SC Attorney General Alan Wilson has secured an agreement to obtain $8.6 million in debt relief for approximately 1,000 former South Carolina ITT Tech students.

The money is part of a settlement with 48 attorneys general and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Nationally, the settlement will result in debt relief of about $330 million for 35,000 borrowers who have outstanding principal balances.

The settlement is with PEAKS Trust, a private loan program run by the for-profit college and affiliated with Deutsche Bank entities.

ITT filed bankruptcy in 2016 amid investigations by state attorneys general and following action by the US Department of Education to restrict ITT’s access to federal student aid.

“These students were going to school so they could get better jobs but instead they were taken advantage of and left with debt and no jobs to pay it off,” Wilson said.

“But it wasn’t just normal debt. These companies used unfair pressure tactics to trap students in a no-win situation.”

ITT developed a plan with PEAKS to offer students temporary credit to cover the gap in tuition between federal student aid and the full cost of the education.

According to the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance filed Tuesday:

Many students thought the temporary credit was like a federal loan and would not be due until 9 months after they graduated.

When the temporary credit became due, ITT pressured and coerced students into accepting loans from PEAKS, which for many students carried high interest rates, far above rates for federal loans.

Pressure tactics used by ITT included pulling students out of class and threatening to expel them if they did not accept the loan terms.

The default rate on the PEAKS loans is projected to exceed 80%.

The defaulted loans con tinue to affect students’ credit ratings and are usually not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Under the settlement, PEAKS has agreed that it will forgo collection of the outstanding loans and cease doing business.

The settlement also requires PEAKS to supply credit reporting agencies with information to update credit information for affected borrowers.

Students will need to do nothing to receive the debt relief.

Students may direct questions to PEAKS at customerservice@peaksloans. com or 866-747-0273, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at (855) 411-2372.