Know Your Rights as a California For-Profit Borrower
SPECIAL GUEST: YAN CAO
Were you harmed attending a for-profit, private non-profit or school closure in California? You may be entitled to money back.
Yan Cao, a nationally recognized expert on predatory student lending now serving at the Office of Student Assistance and Relief (OSAR), an office within the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).
Yan brings an extraordinary track record to this work. Including litigation at Harvard Law School’s Project on Predatory Student Lending, where she fought to cancel debt and advance legal rights for defrauded borrowers, and years as Senior Legal Counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB).
She, and other OSAR staff, will be joining us to discuss the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF), a California state fund that may owe you compensation for financial harm you suffered at a for-profit school.
This event is open to borrowers with private or federal loans, those who have already had federal debt canceled, and those still waiting on relief.
If you attended a for-profit school in California, there may be options you haven’t explored yet. You don’t have to live in California now to attend or potentially qualify; what matters is that you lived and enrolled there.
Come with your story and your questions!
We’ll also be organizing around a second urgent issue: California may have seized your tax refund to collect a debt you owed to a private college often without clear warning. If you received a notice from your school about a balance owed, we need to hear from you. This practice is hurting borrowers across the state, and we’re building a collective fight to stop it.
Whether you’re navigating STRF, a seized refund, or both. This is your space to connect with others in the same situation, hear from experts and take action together.
Join Our Monthly Borrower Defense Calls
Stay informed. Get support. Take action.
Our Monthly Borrower Defense Calls are designed for borrowers navigating fraud, misconduct, and student loan injustice. Each call provides timely updates on the Borrower Defense landscape, current litigation, and policy developments—alongside practical guidance on asserting your rights and filing claims.
These calls are both educational and action-oriented. You will have space to ask questions, learn from others with similar experiences, and connect with a community working collectively to challenge predatory student lending.
Throughout the year, we will also host guest speakers from partner organizations, including advocates working in policy, legal aid, and borrower defense support, to share expertise, updates, and opportunities for coordinated action.
Whether you are just getting started or have an open case, these calls are for you.