Apr 18, 2015 11:43 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The U.S. Education Department (ED) is trying to wrap up an investigation into whether or not Navient Corp. violated a student lending law by cheating active-duty military members.

According to the Huffington Post, the ED is close to reaching a settlement with the lender formerly known as Sallie Mae that would end its investigation. Before the company divided itself in two, Sallie Mae was accused of knowingly violating the federal law providing certain student loan rights to active-duty members of the U.S. military.

Speaking at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee meeting Thursday, Thomas Skelley, the ED's active chief financial officer, said the department's settlement with Navient should be completed by May 1. But the settlement is not exactly putting people's minds at ease.

"I continue to be deeply concerned about the allegations that a student loan servicer knowingly overcharged service members while they were on active duty," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), said at the meeting. "This is an issue I'm going to continue to be focused on to make sure our men and women in uniform are treated fairly [and] can continue their education without the fear of predatory practices."

Neither the ED nor Navient Corp. commented on the impending settlement. However, the ED suffered harsh criticism for allegedly allowing Navient and other lenders under contract to violate borrowers' rights with little oversight.

Arguably no one has been more critical of the ED than Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who in Dec. 2013 warned the department against becoming "lapdogs" for their contracted lenders. President Barack Obama has also called for the ED to do a better job of protecting student loan borrowers' rights.

In the meantime, the ED has shown no signs of severing ties with these companies, rewarding Sallie Mae/Navient with a lucrative renewed contract. Collective student loan debt in the U.S. is currently estimated at $1.2 trillion.

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