Consumer complaint received 2025-03-18 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Improper use of your report — Reporting company used your report improperly
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the unauthorized access and breach of my educational records, financial aid data, and IRS tax information by the U.S. Department of Education ( DOE ) and the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ). This breach constitutes a direct violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ) and Title IV regulations, as well as an egregious violation of my personal privacy and financial security. 

I recently discovered that my sensitive and legally protected records were accessed and potentially shared without my consent. This includes but is not limited to : 1. My academic records and personally identifiable information ( PII ). 
2. My Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ) data, including financial aid history and loan information. 
3. My IRS tax transcripts, which were obtained and used without proper authorization. 

These actions violate my rights under FERPA ( 20 U.S. Code 1232g ; 34 CFR Part 99 ), which grants me the right to control access to my educational records, as well as Title IV of the Higher Education Act, which governs the use and protection of federal student aid information. Furthermore, unauthorized access to my IRS tax data raises serious concerns regarding potential identity theft, fraud, and violations of federal data security standards. I lodged a complaint with FERPA in XXXX, but was never notified of a result from this issue. In addition to this, upon logging into my federal student loan portal, a message appears which states that this computer system is " intended to be solely accessed by individual users expressly authorized to access the system by the U.S. Department of Education. Usage may be monitored, recorded, and/or subject to audit. For security purposes and in order to ensure that the system remains available to all expressly authorized users, the U.S. Department of Education monitors the system to identify unauthorized users. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring and recording. Unauthorized use of this information system is prohibited and subject to criminal and civil penalties. Except as expressly authorized by the U.S. Department of Education, unauthorized attempts to access, obtain, upload, modify, change, and/or delete information on this system are strictly prohibited and are subject to criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1030, and other applicable statutes, which may result in fines and imprisonment. For purposes of this system, unauthorized access includes, but is not limited to : any access by an employee or agent of a commercial entity, or other third party, who is not the individual user, for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain ( regardless of whether the commercial entity or third party is providing a service to an authorized user of the system ) ; and any access in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or any State. '' https : XXXX XXXX  : XXXX XXXX  : XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation