Attended La' James International College? Its Legal History Deserves a Closer Look

If you borrowed federal student loans to attend La' James International College, you should know that the school has faced years of lawsuits, government scrutiny, settlements, and allegations involving its treatment of students and financial aid.

For former students who believe what they were promised did not match what they actually received, this history may be important when evaluating a Borrower Defense to Repayment claim.

Iowa Filed a Consumer Fraud Lawsuit Against La' James

In 2014, the Iowa Attorney General sued La' James International College, alleging violations of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act involving deceptive, misleading, or unfair practices in marketing, enrollment, and instruction.

Among the allegations were failures to provide qualified instructors, long periods without instruction, interference with required skills training, students being required to perform janitorial work, and poor recordkeeping concerning training hours.

The case ended in a major 2016 consent judgment. La' James agreed to forgive approximately 2.1 million dollars in student debt, make significant changes to its business practices, submit to independent oversight, and pay a total of 550,000 dollars. The school and its principals did not admit wrongdoing as part of that settlement.

That is significant regulatory history for former students reviewing whether their own enrollment experience involved similar representations.

Financial Aid Problems Drew Further Scrutiny

The problems did not end with the 2016 settlement.

A court filing describing federal oversight states that the U.S. Department of Education told La' James in 2018 that it had failed to comply with requirements associated with Heightened Cash Monitoring. The Department said La' James had delayed, and in some cases reversed, the posting of federal student-aid funds to student accounts.

An independent settlement administrator also concluded that students had been misled through representations and omissions concerning the availability and timing of financial-aid credit-balance payments.

Then, in December 2022, another settlement required La' James to forgive an additional 461,771 dollars in debt for approximately 116 students. The Iowa Attorney General said the agreement resolved allegations that La' James had violated provisions of the earlier consent judgment concerning deceptive or misleading statements in recruitment and financial aid.

Students Also Brought a Class-Action Lawsuit

Students filed Detmer v. La'James College of Hairstyling in 2020, alleging that La' James improperly delayed financial-aid credit-balance payments and violated agreements made to students.

A settlement received final approval in 2024. Qualifying class members could receive 1,500 dollars, forgiveness of outstanding institutional debt, and the settlement required changes to the school's financial-aid communications.

These were disputed claims resolved by settlement, but the case provides another substantial piece of the school's documented legal history.

La' James Is on Sweet v. Cardona Exhibit C

There is another important fact former students should know.

La' James International College and La' James College of Hairstyling are specifically listed on Exhibit C of the Sweet v. Cardona settlement, under owner Cynthia Becher.

For borrowers covered by the Sweet settlement, Exhibit C had major consequences. However, being on Exhibit C does not automatically approve a new Borrower Defense application filed today. New applicants still need to explain what La' James represented or failed to disclose to them, why it mattered to their decision to enroll or borrow, and how they were harmed.

Could This Evidence Help Your Borrower Defense Claim?

Possibly.

If your own experience at La' James involved misleading information about financial aid, tuition or costs, instructors, hands-on training, educational quality, program completion, or other promises that influenced you to enroll or take out federal loans, these government actions and lawsuits may provide useful corroborating evidence.

Your strongest application should still connect the school's conduct directly to your personal experience and financial harm.

Attended La' James International College and still have federal student debt?

Prefer to prepare the application yourself? Use our step-by-step Borrower Defense DIY Guide.

Want to research similar cases? Browse our growing library of schools with usable misconduct evidence or search our full list of schools.

The Bottom Line

La' James International College's record includes a state consumer-fraud lawsuit, millions of dollars in debt relief through settlements, federal financial-aid scrutiny, a student class action, and inclusion on Sweet v. Cardona Exhibit C.

If what happened to you resembles the conduct described in these public records, it may be worth investigating a Borrower Defense claim rather than simply continuing to carry the debt.

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