There's a certain infantilization of the federal government here that should be especially alarming to taxpayers who have ever crossed paths with the IRS. The agency has the power to make citizens lives miserable, ruin their businesses and garnishtheir wages.
The lawsuit on behalf of up to 100, 000 borrowers claims lawyers at Mel Harris then used those statements to obtain default judgments against the consumers and threaten to garnishtheir wages or freeze money in their bank accounts.
Long-term default is all-but-impossible, as those issuing loans for higher education have the right to garnish everything from tax refunds to Social Security checks in their quest to be paid back.