Investigators say bank sent student aid officers on cruise (AP/CNN)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Congressional investigators probing student loan problems said Tuesday that JPMorgan Chase & Co. paid five college student aid officers to do work for the bank while they were on college payrolls.

In 2005, the bank also arranged a $70,000 dinner cruise in New York City harbor for more than 200 student aid officers, the investigators said, adding to conflict-of-interest allegations in a widening student loan scandal.

Investigators provided documents to Reuters detailing hiring agreements between JPMorgan and five executives at small colleges going back to 2005, as well as the cruise, which included bus transport from a conference hotel to the ship, beer and wine, and a dance floor.

"While it's become clear over the last few months that conflicts of interest are pervasive in the student loan industry, it still stands out as particularly egregious that a lender would pay officials on the university payroll," California Democratic Rep. George Miller said in a statement.

"No matter which way you slice it, it is wrong for any financial aid office employee to also be working as a paid consultant for a lender," Miller said, adding that he has sent the documents to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and urged her to investigate.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/05/09/student.loans.jpmorgan.reut/index.html

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1. Oopers -- Reuters, not AP. nt

:blush: