Sallie Mae Lawsuit: What Is Actually Pending, and Who It Is About
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Sallie Mae today is SLM Corporation and its bank, Sallie Mae Bank, which makes private student loans. As of September 30, 2026, the one class action SLM itself reports is a securities case brought for shareholders — not borrowers. There is no Sallie Mae settlement for borrowers: no fund, no claim form, no deadline. The student-loan settlement checks in this year's headlines come from Navient, a separate company since April 30, 2014.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
Three Different Fights Under One Name
Investors. A shareholder class action alleges SLM hid a significant increase in early-stage delinquencies on its private loans and overstated how well its loss-mitigation and loan-modification programs were working. Per the complaint as summarised by plaintiffs' counsel, the chief financial officer said in late July 2025 that delinquencies were “following the normal seasonal trends”; on August 14, 2025 an analyst report flagged the jump, and the stock fell about 8%.
Student data. The founder of Scholly, a scholarship-matching app Sallie Mae bought in June 2023, is suing SLM Corporation and its non-bank subsidiary SLM Education Services, LLC. The complaint alleges Sallie Mae ran student data through the non-bank company so it could be sold for advertising outside the federal privacy rules that bind the bank, and that he was fired after raising it. Sallie Mae calls the claims “without merit.”
Borrowers in default. Here the lawsuits usually run the other way: Sallie Mae sues borrowers to collect defaulted private loans. Business Insider reported in May 2026 on a borrower Sallie Mae sued after she had received an email congratulating her on her “final payment” — which, she said, the company told her was a glitch.
Case Details
Investor case: Zappia v. SLM Corporation, et al., No. 25-cv-18834, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, filed December 19, 2025 under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The proposed class covers people who bought SLM securities (NASDAQ: SLM; SLMBP) between July 25, 2025 and August 14, 2025.
Scholly founder's case: filed April 13, 2026 in Delaware Superior Court against SLM Corporation and SLM Education Services, LLC, alongside a whistleblower complaint to the SEC.
Bankruptcy-discharge litigation over older “Sallie Mae” private loans is Navient's. In the Homaidan case the loans came from the Sallie Mae corporation to which Navient is the successor, and the Second Circuit ruled against Navient's motion to dismiss in July 2021. The rules themselves are on our student loans in bankruptcy page.
Status: Investor Case Pending, No Borrower Settlement
The Scholly founder's case is one person's lawsuit, not a class action. It seeks back pay, punitive damages and legal costs for him, not payments to app users. No court has ruled on its allegations.
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Who Each Case Is About
Borrowers: there is no class to join. If you have a Sallie Mae private loan, none of the pending cases pays you or changes what you owe.
Shareholders: the proposed class is anyone who bought SLM securities between July 25, 2025 and August 14, 2025. The lead-plaintiff deadline of February 17, 2026 has passed, and you do not need to be lead plaintiff to share in any future recovery. If the class is certified or the case settles, notice goes to class members.
Scholly and sallie.com users: the data allegations sit inside one person's case. A consumer class action over the same data would be a separate case with its own notice.
Navient borrowers: the CFPB redress checks, the earlier state attorney-general settlement and the bankruptcy-discharge cases all belong to Navient, not Sallie Mae. Navient also kept the liabilities from before the 2014 split. Start at our Navient settlement checks page.
Is Anyone Getting Paid?
If a student-loan settlement check reached you in 2026, look at who it names. The checks in this year's headlines come from the Navient CFPB case, not from Sallie Mae.
Sallie Mae Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
April 30, 2014 — Sallie Mae and Navient split
SLM Corporation separates from the company now named Navient. Navient keeps the assets and liabilities generated before the split, except those SLM explicitly retained.
- 2
June 2023 — Sallie Mae buys Scholly
The scholarship-matching app joins Sallie Mae and its founder becomes an executive. He later alleges he was fired after raising data-privacy concerns.
- 3
August 14, 2025 — Delinquency report, stock drop
An analyst report flags a jump in early-stage delinquencies on SLM's private loans. Per the investor complaint, the stock falls about 8%.
- 4
December 19, 2025 — Investor class action filed
Zappia v. SLM Corporation, et al. (No. 25-cv-18834) is filed in federal court in New Jersey. A lead plaintiff is appointed on April 1, 2026.
- 5
April 13, 2026 — Scholly founder sues
The Delaware Superior Court complaint targets SLM Corporation and SLM Education Services, LLC and alleges student data was sold through the non-bank unit. Sallie Mae denies it.
- 6
June 8, 2026 — Amended investor complaint
The investor case proceeds on an amended complaint. As of September 30, 2026, no borrower settlement, fund or claim form exists.
Three Things to Watch For
A familiar brand, a real investor lawsuit and real Navient checks in the news are exactly the mix imposters use:
“Claim your Sallie Mae settlement check”
There is no Sallie Mae borrower settlement to claim. The student-loan checks in the 2026 headlines come from the Navient CFPB case — see our Navient checks page. Anyone asking for a fee, your bank login or your full Social Security number to “release” a Sallie Mae payment is not part of any court process.
“We now own your Sallie Mae loan — pay today”
Defaulted private loans do get sold, so the pitch sounds plausible. Sallie Mae told Business Insider it informs customers when they default, when a defaulted loan is sold and who the new owner is. Before paying a collector you do not recognise, confirm the transfer with Sallie Mae using the contact details on your own statement or account — not the number in the message.
Pay-to-erase offers for Sallie Mae loans
Sallie Mae loans are private loans from Sallie Mae Bank, and as of September 30, 2026 there is no settlement that cancels them. A company charging upfront to “get your Sallie Mae debt forgiven” or to “add you to the class action” is selling something that does not exist. A private loan can sometimes be discharged in bankruptcy, but only through a court case — see student loans in bankruptcy.
Sallie Mae Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Is there a Sallie Mae settlement I can file a claim in?
No. As of September 30, 2026 there is no Sallie Mae settlement for borrowers — no fund, no administrator, no claim form and no deadline. The only lawsuit SLM names in its latest quarterly report is a securities class action for shareholders. Our open settlements list shows cases taking claims right now.
Is Sallie Mae the same company as Navient?
No. They separated on April 30, 2014, and Navient kept the assets and liabilities from before the split. The CFPB redress checks, the bankruptcy-discharge litigation over older Sallie Mae loans and Navient's own June 2026 data incident are all Navient matters. Sallie Mae today is SLM Corporation and Sallie Mae Bank, which makes private student loans.
What is the Sallie Mae lawsuit investors filed?
Zappia v. SLM Corporation, et al. (D.N.J. No. 25-cv-18834), filed December 19, 2025. It alleges the company hid a rise in early-stage delinquencies and overstated how well its loan-modification programs were working. It covers people who bought SLM securities between July 25, 2025 and August 14, 2025. It is about stock losses, not about how borrowers were treated.
Is Sallie Mae selling students' data?
That is the allegation in the Scholly founder's lawsuit, filed April 13, 2026. It says sallie.com is run by SLM Education Services, LLC — a non-bank subsidiary — whose privacy policy states that it “sells” and “shares” personal information. It points to Backpack Media, an advertising platform launched March 4, 2026 that offers brands an audience of 8.5 million students, families and young professionals. Sallie Mae calls the accusations false and “without merit.” No court has ruled.
Sallie Mae is suing me over a defaulted loan. Is that part of a class action?
No. A collection lawsuit is a case against you individually, and it is separate from everything on this page. Business Insider reported in May 2026 on borrowers facing these suits without a lawyer. The court papers set a deadline to respond, and missing it can lead to a default judgment. Keep every notice and email, and consider a consumer attorney or legal aid before the deadline.
Can a Sallie Mae private loan be discharged in bankruptcy?
Sometimes. Many private loans survive bankruptcy unless the borrower proves undue hardship, but loans outside the protected categories can be discharged like ordinary debt. In the Homaidan case over older Sallie Mae loans, the Second Circuit in July 2021 rejected Navient's reading that would have shielded virtually all private student loans. Whether your loan qualifies depends on its terms — see our bankruptcy page.
I got a data breach letter about my student loan. Is it from Sallie Mae?
Check the sender. Navient disclosed that on June 8, 2026 it learned of a ransomware attack on a third-party law firm holding borrower names, dates of birth, addresses and Social Security numbers, and it called the incident material on June 29, 2026. That is Navient's incident, not Sallie Mae's. Nelnet's older breach has its own settlement page. SLM's quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026 names no data-breach lawsuit.
What should a Sallie Mae borrower do right now?
Nothing is required to stay in any case. Ignore anyone selling a “Sallie Mae settlement” claim. If you are behind on payments, deal with Sallie Mae directly and keep written records of every call and payment. If you are served with a lawsuit, respond by the deadline. If you held SLM stock in the summer of 2025, keep your trade confirmations.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.