Friday, August 16, 2013

Pay Your Student Loans Or Be Ready For The S.W.A.T Team?





According to News10 in California, Stockton resident Kenneth Wright had his door broken in by a S.W.A.T. team executing a search warrant in the early morning hours.  Wright claims both he and his children were terrorized by the intruding and unexpected police presence in their home, as the team searched their house for hours.

The reason?  The father claims it was over student loan delinquency.

The news report states that the Department of Education’s Inspector General confirms that they issued the search warrant and that they have agents permission to do this type of procedure.  They  were accompanied by one local police car and police officer as well, although local police have been quick to assure that they were not responsible for the actual breaking down of the door, nor did they conduct the search itself.  Police also state that Wright was never handcuffed.

The OIG also says that the issue was not student loan delinquency, but possible embezzlement or fraud involving loans or federal aid.

Education Department Press Secretary Justin Hamilton said in a statement to The Lookout that the department “does not execute search warrants for late loan payments.” He said the Office of the Inspector General “conducts about 30-35 search warrants a year on issues such as bribery, fraud, and embezzlement of federal student aid funds.” Hamilton said the department cannot comment on this particular case until the investigation is over, but did add that the claim the warrant was executed for late loan payment is untrue.

Whether it was delinquency or fraud, one thing that seems clear – that so many people could envision that the federal government  sending a S.W.A.T. team to apprehend someone who defaulted on their loans shows the exact state of our trust in the government today.

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