Nelnet data breach class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Michael Varlotta filed a class action lawsuit against Nelnet Servicing LLC.
- Why: Varlotta claims Nelnet failed to safeguard the personally identifiable information of its student loan borrowers during a recent data breach.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Nebraska federal court.
Student loan services company Nelnet failed to properly secure and safeguard the personally identifiable information of more than 2.5 million borrowers during a recent data breach of its servers, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Michael Varlotta claims Nelnet bears responsibility for a data breach of its servers which exposed borrowers unencrypted and unredacted names, phone numbers, email addresses, and Social Security numbers.
“Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ unencrypted, unredacted PII was compromised due to Nelnet’s negligent and/or careless acts and omissions, and due to the utter failure to protect Class Members’ sensitive data,” states the Nelnet class action.
Varlotta argues Nelnet, in addition to allegedly failing to safeguard the data, also “failed to provide timely, accurate and adequate notice” to student loan borrowers who were affected by the Nelnet data breach.
“Current and former borrowers’ knowledge about what PII Nelnet lost … was unreasonably delayed by Nelnet’s unreasonable notification delay after it first learned of the data breach,” states the Nelnet class action.
Varlotta wants to represent a nationwide class of student loan borrowers whose personally identifiable information was compromised in the Nelnet data breach announced by the company in August 2022.
Nelnet accused of failing to explain why it took more than a month to notify borrowers about the data breach
Nelnet notified state attorney generals on or around Aug. 26 that unauthorized individuals had gained access to its systems and acquired and accessed files on its network, according to the Nelnet class action.
Varlotta claims Nelnet chose not to notify student loan borrowers, however, on July 21, “instead choosing to address the incident in-house by implementing other alleged safeguards to some aspects of its computer security.”
Nelnet subsequently “failed to explain” why it took over a month for it to notify student loan borrowers to alert them that their personally identifiable information had been exposed in the data breach, the Nelnet class action alleges.
Varlotta claims Nelnet is guilty of negligence, unjust enrichment, invasion of privacy, and breach of implied contract.
Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual, nominal, consequential, and punitive damages for himself and all class members.
Last month, President Joe Biden announced that he would be forgiving up to $20,000 for student loan borrowers across the country and extending the repayment moratorium through the end of the year.
Was your personally identifiable information exposed in the Nelnet data breach? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by J.L. Spray and Jacob C. Garbison of Mattson Ricketts Law Firm, and Brandon M. Wise of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise, LLP.
The Nelnet data breach class action lawsuit is Varlotta v. Nelnet Servicing LLC, Case No. 4:22-cv-03188, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska.
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261 thoughts onNelnet class action claims data breach exposed personal information of more than 2.5M individuals
I was not informed of the breach
I was never. Notified
My personal information has been compromised, yet Nelnet never notified me of any data breach. Please add me, thank you.
I have not been notified by Nelnet, please add me.
I was never notified of a breach from Nelnet. Please add me to the list.
I live in Southern California and have been fighting to have a $50,000 loan removed or forgiven. The loan was taken out by me but not for that amount and I quit the school after 3months…I never received the loan they are charging me for.
Hi, I am currently fighting an Identity Theft case with Nelnet for FRAUDULENT LOANS. Can someone please add me or reach out to me? How will I know if my identity was compromised once again because of this?
Please add my my data was breached
Please add me to this class action claim.
Wow I most def want in on this with Nelnet! Nice notifications that I NEVER received!
I was never notified of a breach from Nelnet. Please add me to the list.