Sallie Mae, Justice Department in $60M settlement

WASHINGTON (AP) — Student lender Sallie Mae has reached a $60 million settlement with the Justice Department to resolve allegations that it charged members of the military excessive interest rates on their student loans, the federal government announced Tuesday.

The deal settles a government lawsuit that asserted the student loan giant violated the rights of service members by imposing interest rates above the 6 percent permitted by federal law and by improperly seeking default judgments against them. Separately, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced a settlement of $30 million in restitution arising from allegations that the company maximized consumer late fee charges, as well as $6.6 million in civil penalties.