U.S. Marshals arrested Paul Aker of Texas last week for $1,500 in unpaid federal student loans. Aker borrowed the loan in 1987 and claims that he was unaware he had any outstanding debt.
“I paid two other student loans and thought I had consolidated everything and paid it all off,” Aker said. The U.S. Marshals reportedly made several attempts to serve Aker with a court order requesting that he appear in federal court. The agency said they had searched numerous known addresses before locating Aker. They also said they made contact with Aker by phone in 2012 requesting that he appear in court and he refused.
According to CNNMoney, Aker does not remember having that conversation and said he has not received any notification about the outstanding loan in a long time. A warrant was issued for his arrest soon after he failed to appear in court in 2012.
Two U.S. Marshals went to arrest Aker last Friday at his home. “I went inside to get my gun because I didn’t know who these guys were,” Aker said. The Marshals called for backup after Aker told them he was armed.
After two hours, Aker finally put down the gun and went outside to be arrested without further incident.
Although Aker’s original loan was for $1,500, he now owes approximately $5,700 including interest. He agreed to be placed on a payment plan before a judge last week.
According to CNNMoney, it is common practice for U.S. Marshals to serve summonses to people who fail to appear in court for unpaid federal student loans. However an arrest warrant is only issued after the debtor fails to appear in court.
Arrest warrants were issued for 25 people in the Houston, Texas area for failure to appear in court regarding unpaid student loans.
After 90 days, the loan becomes delinquent and damages the borrower’s credit score. However, student loans are not considered to be in default until nine months of nonpayment.
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