A California resident has filed a lawsuit against a student loan servicer, alleging improper handling of her loan account that led to inflated interest charges and erroneous credit reporting. The complaint was lodged by Cara Black in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, on November 7, 2025, against the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA).
Cara Black accuses MOHELA of adding tens of thousands of dollars in interest to her student loan balance during periods when no interest should have accrued. Despite repeated notifications and acknowledgments from MOHELA that these charges were erroneous, the company failed to correct the account for over a year. Black claims that MOHELA reported inaccurate balances to credit agencies, showing she owed money she did not. “MOHELA’s conduct has materially interfered with my ability to understand my loan terms,” said Black in her filing.
The plaintiff argues that MOHELA’s actions violate several laws including the California Student Borrower Bill of Rights, Consumer Credit Reporting Agency Act, Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. According to Black’s attorneys, Daniel “Sparky” Abraham from Jubilee Legal and Elliot Conn from Conn Law PC, MOHELA’s failure to rectify its errors has caused significant harm to Black’s financial standing and mental well-being.
Black is seeking actual damages for the inflated amounts reported on her credit report as well as punitive damages for what she describes as willful misconduct by MOHELA. She also demands injunctive relief to prevent further unlawful practices by the defendant. The plaintiff emphasizes that despite multiple complaints to both state and federal regulators, including the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), MOHELA continued its inaccurate reporting practices.
In her complaint, Black details how she made all required payments under a specific repayment plan designed to prevent such interest accruals but found herself repeatedly misrepresented by MOHELA’s records. She notes that after enrolling in this plan in August 2023, she discovered growing balances inaccurately reflected on her credit reports starting October 2023.
Black further asserts that attempts at resolution through calls and written correspondence with MOHELA were met with inadequate responses or outright neglect. Even after receiving confirmation from FSA about errors in her account management by MOHELA, corrective actions were not taken by the servicer.
Representing Cara Black are attorneys Elliot Conn and Kira Patterson from Conn Law PC along with Daniel “Sparky” Abraham from Jubilee Legal. The case is being reviewed under Case No. 25CV479581 at the Superior Court of California in Santa Clara County.
Source: 25CV479581_Cara_Black_v_Higher_Education_Complaint_County_of_Santa_Clara_California.pdf
