​Scammers will say just about anything — in any language — to separate you from your hard-earned money. And when it comes to student loan forgiveness, they’ll target Spanish speakers with false promises of debt relief help.
The FTC just sued USA Student Debt Relief (USASDR) for advertising and signing up people for fake student loan forgiveness plans with super-low monthly payments. The FTC says USASDR targeted borrowers living in Puerto Rico by pretending to be affiliated with the Department of Education and posting fake testimonials and reviews online.
Instead of helping, USASDR pressured people to quickly sign a super-long, difficult-to-read contract (completely in English, even though the sales pitch was often in Spanish). Once you signed up, the company (illegally) billed you an upfront fee, and then started charging you monthly — payments you thought were going towards your loans (but weren’t). Instead, all the fees went into USASDR’s pockets.  To keep their scheme going, the FTC says USASDR sometimes changed the contact information in your FSA account so your (real) lender couldn’t reach you. 
Want to avoid student loan forgiveness scams? Here are some things to know:

• Scammers often lie and say they’re affiliated with the Department of Education. Make sure you’re working with a federal student loan servicer that’s listed on the Department of Education’s website. (And use the contact information listed there, too — scammers can spoof the numbers and names of legit servicers.)
• Scammers say they need your FSA ID login information. Never give out this information. If a scammer gets your FSA ID, they could cut you off from your loan servicer — or even steal your identity.
• Scammers will tell you to sign contracts in a language you don’t understand. You have a right to know what you’re paying for before a company charges you. Don’t sign a contract you don’t understand, whether or not it’s written in another language.

Get free help managing your federal loans at StudentAid.gov/repay. Got private loans? Go straight to your loan servicer for help.

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• A new produce recall has several major retailers pulling vegetables from shelves.
• This is across 15 states over Listeria monocytogenes concerns.
• It includes retail packaged produce as well as those sold in bulk and by weight.

New produce recalls have several major retailers pulling vegetables from shelves in 15 states over contamination concerns.
The issue behind the produce recalls is that some vegetables may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This can cause fatal illness in the young and elderly alongside severe short-term issues for healthy people.
Let’s break down those produce recalls below!
 
 
Produce Recalls 2024 Details
First up are retail packaged items sold at Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stores in CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VA and WV. That includes the following:

• Wiers Farm Bagged Poblano – UPC 073064202581 – 16 ounce bag
• Wiers Farm Bagged Cubanelle – UPC 073064201836 – 16 oz bag
• Wiers Farm Bagged Green Beans – UPC 073064200846 – variable weight bag
• Wiers Farm Bagged Salad Cucumber – UPC 073064459619 – 2 pound bag
• Wiers Farm Bagged Serrano – UPC 073064201829 – 4 oz bag
• Wiers Farm Organic Bell Pepper – UPC 073064201416 – 2 count tray
• Wiers Farm Organic Cucumber – UPC 073064201423 – 2 count tray
• Wiers Farm Organic Yellow Squash – UPC 073064201447 – 2 count tray
• Wiers Farm Organic Zucchini Squash – UPC 073064201430 – 2 count tray

Also, these packaged goods were sold at Aldi stores in KY, NY, OH, PA and WV:

• Freshire Farms Bagged Green Beans – 16 oz bag
• Freshire Farms Bagged Jalapenos – 8 oz bag

Finally, the following items were sold in bulk or by weight at Walmart, Kroger (NYSE:KR) and Save-a-Lot stores.

• Anaheim peppers
• Cilantro sold in bunches
• Cubanelle peppers
• Whole cucumbers
• Green beans
• Green bell peppers
• Habanero peppers
• Hungarian Wax peppers
• Jalapeno peppers
• Mixed Vegetable boxes “shipped to Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio Foodbanks only”
• Mustard greens sold in bunches
• Pickling cucumber
• Plain parsley sold in bunches
• Poblano peppers
• Serrano peppers
• Tomatillos

The produce included in these recalls comes from Wiers Farm. They were sold under the Wiers Farm and Freshire Farms brands.