U.S. News

A Student Loan Scammer Who Stole $45.9 Million Has Been Permanently Banned From the Industry

By Curtis Jones · July 22, 2026

She told student loan borrowers she worked with the Department of Education. She didn’t. She took their money instead.

Dennise Merdjanian, the operator of Nevada-based Superior Servicing LLC, has been permanently banned from the debt relief and telemarketing industries under a proposed order announced Tuesday by the Federal Trade Commission — resolving charges that she and her associates stole more than $45.9 million from student loan borrowers through a scheme that impersonated federal officials and promised relief that never came.

The FTC’s case, first filed in November 2024, alleged that Superior Servicing made telemarketing calls and sent personalized mailers to borrowers falsely claiming affiliation with the Department of Education or its approved loan servicers. Borrowers were told they could receive loan consolidation, reduced interest rates, lower monthly payments, or loan forgiveness by enrolling in the program. To make the pitch seem legitimate, some representatives advised borrowers to stop making payments to their existing servicers — advice that, if followed, would damage the borrower’s credit and loan standing while doing nothing to actually reduce their balance.

What borrowers were actually paying for was nothing. The operators collected upfront fees of up to $899, followed by ongoing monthly payments they claimed were going toward the borrower’s loan balance. In reality, the money was going to Merdjanian and her associates. At most, investigators found, the defendants occasionally filled out basic income-driven repayment applications that are free to submit directly through StudentAid.gov.

A federal court froze the scheme’s assets and issued a temporary restraining order in November 2024. The settlement announced Tuesday permanently resolves the FTC’s charges against Merdjanian. The $45.9 million judgment — the full amount stolen from consumers — is partially suspended because of her documented inability to pay. If she is found to have misrepresented her finances, the full amount becomes immediately due.

Two co-defendants, Eric Caldwell and David Hernandez, settled separately earlier in the case under similar lifetime bans and were required to turn over personal and business assets. Litigation against the corporate defendants was resolved through a default order.

For borrowers who may have paid into a scheme like this one — Superior Servicing or others — the FTC maintains a list of active and recent enforcement actions at ftc.gov/StudentLoans. Consumers who need help with actual federal student loan options, including income-driven repayment plans, loan consolidation, and legitimate forgiveness programs, can access those services for free at StudentAid.gov. No third party charging a fee is required or legitimate for federal student loan management.

The scheme that Merdjanian ran is not unusual in its mechanics — the FTC has brought dozens of similar cases over the past decade as student loan debt has grown and borrowers have become more desperate for relief. What is unusual is the scale: $45.9 million from a single operation, targeting borrowers who were already struggling financially and trusting enough to believe that someone calling them with a federal government connection was telling the truth.