Ripped off by US Department of Education

Dear President Obama, I would like to know if you can do something about the US Department of Education assisting fly by night schools in stealing money from students. In 1985, I misled by a so called school in Long Beach, CA called VTI. I was promised an education as a computer operator, carpool service since I didn't own a vehicle at the time, and job placement assistance. The school turned out to be a complete rip off and waste of time. They didn't deliver any of the things they promised. They only told me what they thought I wanted to hear just to get me to attend their school and fill out forms for a grant and student loan just so they could get their paws on the money. I left that school and tried Webster Career College of Bellflower to get training as a secretary/computer operator but quit once I realized it wasn't the real thing. They claimed to have a job placement program but I quickly learned that was none existent. Even though I dropped out, they kept me on as still attending when they weren't supposed to. All this just to get their hands on the money from a student loan as well. When I attempted to confront them for the umpteenth time about job placement since I was fed up with relying on temp agencies for work, they had me write a letter under duress claiming that they had given me an education and had me go through their phony little graduation march (cap and gown deal). I never did land an office position and had to keep relying on temp services. But even temp services go through a slow stage. While I was completely unemployed, the US Dept. of Education began harassing me with phone calls demanding money for an education I never even received. Both VTI and Webster have closed down and there's no way to find out who the owners were. Not that it would do any good since authorities allow them to get away with theft and move on to the next town and start the process all over again anyway. I'm married with kids and like most, we're victims of the failed economy. I don't know why some call it a recession when its truly a depression. When the economy was booming, my husband was nice enough to pay the US Dept. of Education $30 per month. But for the past 4 years, they've been stealing our tax returns anyway. My husband was able to get a small portion of our tax refund after writing letters in the past but not now. We barely have money for groceries and our kids need food. Oddly enough, we're not qualified for food stamps yet, we're behind on our car payment, utilities and other bills. The car registration is due but we don't have the funds for that. Since its impossible to find a regular job, I've been cursed with working in clubs for tips and that's no picnic. Some clubs charge us anywhere from $47-$75 per night just so we can come in and work! If we don't make the housefee, its added on to the following night! Its a living hell! There are many times when I barely have enough money for gas just so I can return the next night and try again to make money. Summer has always been known for being slow but with the economy as it is, things are worse than anyone can imagine. I HATE what I have to do for survival and I can never allow my kids to know. I thought I was finally about to get something better (a job with Cirques Du Soleil) but right now I don't even know where I stand with them because the person that claimed to wanna help me get into Cirque is hard to read. He claimed that the artistic director liked what she saw in my video but that I need to lose weight and do another video that's 5 minutes long and shows more of my skills and flexibility. My husband and I are suspicious of this man for numerous reasons and one of my biggest fears is that Cirque might refuse to give me a job by saying I'm too old since I'm not in my 20s. I don't wish to remain in my current line of so called work for numerous reasons. As I said before, I HATE it! Its too stressful for me to be in that type of environment (I'm clearly not cut out for it anyway), I'm allergic to cigarette smoke and being around second hand smoke does me NO justice, its stressful never knowing whether or not I'll even make money, these days you must have a business license for this type of so called work; it was okay when it cost $100 to renew it annually but now its $200 and that kind of money is hard to come by. What the hell were they thinking to raise it up to $200 when its hard enough to even make $100 in one night?!?! I have scoliosis and cannot wear heels. Any shoe I wear must have a lift in it to even out my hips (one hip is higher than the other) and make my spine somewhat straight. You'd think that some club managers would understand this but no. There are managers that don't care anything at all about the health of an employee. Instead, they want us to look like hookers down to the shoes!!! Its impossible for me to walk in those ugly things let alone just stand in them. On top of all our financial woes, our car registration is due and thanks to the US Dept. of Education stealing our tax return, there's no telling when we'll have the funds to get it. We also have over due doctors and dentist bills due for our children and my own. I've been looking for steady work with companies such as Starbucks and Target but no luck yet. Target rejected me and Starbucks is a waiting game. Is it right for the government to assist fly by night schools in victimizing people like this? When people are hurting for money and believe furthering their education is gonna get them out of a bind, that's their only focus. One would think the US Dept. of Education would check these schools out to prevent people from being ripped off and unable to pay off loans. A while back, a television news magazine did a report on some fly by night school that victimized a homeless man. The man was approached by representative of the school that promised him an education and a job that would allow him to make money and get off the streets. Not long after he signed the papers for a student loan, the school closed and left the poor man homeless, jobless and without an education. He was left with a bill to the government for an education he never received. Something needs to be done to put an end to the US dept. of education ripping people off. Lorna Fioretti