Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

ALBANY -- Six employees of a state agency that oversees collection of delinquent student loans were suspended Thursday after an investigation by the state inspector general's office revealed preferential treatment had been given to an agency employee and a former Albany County prosecutor.

The inspector general's investigation also found that an employee of the Higher Education Services Corp. (HESC) made false entries in a computer system to prevent outside collection vendors from receiving the information. The inspector general said the false entries were intended to prevent the loss of state worker jobs by thwarting the transfer of $1.25 million in HESC collection accounts to private companies.