Company with DeVos ties awarded Education Dept debt-collection contract: report

The Education Department has awarded a contract to a company with financial ties to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, The Washington Post reports.

Performant Financial Corp. is one of two companies selected by the Education Department to help the department collect overdue student loans. Windham Professionals also secured a contract.

{mosads}DeVos invested in a firm tied to Performant before she was named Education Secretary and was required to divest from that company within 90 days of her confirmation.

An Education Department spokesman told The Post that DeVos had “no knowledge, let alone involvement,” in the contract with Performant.

And the head of investor relations at Performant told the Post that the corporation “has never had any direct or indirect contact with Secretary DeVos or anyone related to Mrs. DeVos.”

The contracts have also raised concerns because only two companies were named to help collect the loans.

In the past, the Education Department has utilized up to 17 firms to collect the payments.

The Education Department said in court filings that the bids chosen were “the most advantageous to the government,” according to The Post.