Paul Aker from Houston, Texas was recently taken into custody by Federal Marshals—for an outstanding debt of $1,500 in student loans.
Aker told Fox 26 that he did not receive any type of paper work indicating his debt over an overdue loan he took out in 1987. He said he was shocked to see seven marshals loaded with guns at his door, considering he didn’t do anything wrong.
“I was wondering, why are you here,” he told Fox 26. “I am home, I haven’t done anything. It was totally mind-boggling.”
Aker says he was taken to a federal court house where he was obliged to sign a payment plan to pay off his debt. But according to Congressman Gene Green, the debt collecting isn’t stopping with Aker. Turns out, the federal government is hiring private debt collectors to gather outstanding student loans, who then get permission from federal courts to use U.S. Marshals to collect the money.
“Our reliable source with the U.S. Marshal in Houston say Aker isn’t the first and won’t be the last,” reports Fox 26.“They have to serve anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 warrants to people who have failed to pay their federal student loans.”
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