Just as infuriating, students say, is that the bank and its many affiliates are behaving like the students aren't entitled to the truth either. For weeks, several students have pushed to see all the paperwork contained in their loan files, only to be told they need a court order, a subpoena, or in some cases, that they can only have a copy of the promissory note.

That stonewalling, students suspect, can be traced to Laci and Jason Gorder and the correspondence they obtained a month ago from the company Bank One hired to service their loan.

The documents show the lender and its affiliates have been less than honest about their dealings with the academy, which illegally collected tuition up front, closed, and left many students deep in debt. Convinced the companies have more to hide, students are mustering the money and the nerve for a legal fight, determined to expose any dirty dealings on the part of the academy and the companies that fueled its growth.

"We feel like these little tiny people battling the biggest bank in the country," Laci Gorder says. "But that doesn't mean we're going to roll over and let them get away with it."

One thing is certain: The Gorders, of Roy, have gotten the attention of the bank and the lattice of companies that comprise its student-loan network, starting with First Marblehead Corp., the Boston-based business that owns the trust that bought the loans from Bank One.

Don Peck, executive vice president and chief financial officer for First Marblehead, said students should have no trouble getting the contents of their files.

"Generally, for identity theft purposes, we require an affidavit that is notarized in order for students to get access to their loan documents," Peck said. "In this particular case, due to the sensitive nature of this issue, we'll consider waivers on that because we aren't trying to keep documents away from the students."

Whether the documents are as illuminating as those Jason Gorder obtained remains to be seen.

Gorder, a phlebotomist at University of Utah Hospital, went to the academy in September 2002 in hopes of getting a nursing degree. The school wasn't accredited to grant degrees, but promised to tutor students and help them pass a series of tests and get a degree from Excelsior College, a school in Albany, N.Y. The academy, which had no official connection to Excelsior, charged students the cost of attending both schools - $7,000 for Excelsior and another $10,000 or so for the academy's tutoring program.

Most academy students who needed financial aid were steered to KeyBank. But initially, the test-prep agency recommended students use Bank One. Both banks had no qualms about cutting checks for the full cost of the schooling. Key sent the money to the academy; Bank One made the checks out to students, who endorsed them over to the academy. In both cases, when the academy collapsed, students were left owing thousands of dollars for an education they didn't receive.

Jason Gorder borrowed $16,100. He was one of the last students to get a Bank One loan.

"They said, 'this is who we work with. They can give you the best deal,' " Laci Gorder said. "Everything was done through the academy. We never had any direct contact with the bank."

Gorder's loan documents, like those of others who borrowed from Bank One, listed Excelsior as the school of record - a fact seized upon by First Marblehead in a March 22 letter denying Gorder's request to have his loan forgiven. Representatives of both companies have previously said they knew nothing of the academy and denied the bank had a relationship - formal or informal - with either school. Bank One also has said it never would have loaned money to students had they known of the academy's involvement.

Yet documents from Gorder's loan file show the academy was a primary conduit of information between Excelsior and the bank.

On Oct. 7, 2002, the academy faxed the bank a copy of Gorder's pay stub. Then, on Oct. 23, the academy faxed proof of enrollment in Excelsior. The verification letter, addressed to the academy and signed by Excelsior's director of records, was forwarded to the bank's "missing information" department.

Representatives of Bank One acknowledged Friday that at least one other student had references to the academy in her file.

"They knew the loans were questionable and now they are trying to avoid responsibility," Laci Gorder said of Bank One and its many affiliates. "The thing that really gets me is that Bank One claims this is a 'direct to consumer' loan. But when there was missing information, they didn't come to us for that. They called the Academy of Nursing."

In addition, the documents show that Gorder's loan was approved Oct. 29 - six days after Excelsior severed its ties to Bank One. The reason: Excelsior, aware schools like the academy were profiting from Excelsior's program, asked Bank One to stop loaning students more than its $7,000 price tag. The bank said no.

"There was a concern that students were taking out loans for other things than Excelsior tuition," Excelsior attorney David Miranda said. "So we asked that a cap be placed on the loans."

Mark Hansen, co-owner of the academy, put it more bluntly, saying Excelsior backed away from Bank One "because [the bank was] doing business with us."

Bank One spokeswoman Mary Jane Rogers said the decision to part ways was mutual. A cap tied to the cost of tuition is contrary to the nature of a direct-to-consumer loan, she said. "It covers tuition plus an allowance for living expenses, computers, books, etc.," Rogers said.

And Peck, of First Marblehead, said Gorder's application was approved after the fact because it already was in the pipeline. Peck and Rogers stand by the assertion that Bank One did not have a relationship with either school, but neither could explain the correspondence in Gorder's file.

Whether Bank One had a relationship with either school is not just a formality. Federal trade law says when there is a referral or a relationship between a seller and a lender, such as a school and a bank, consumers can bring claims against both. The law, says consumer protection attorney Tom Domonoske, is supposed to protect borrowers from having to repay loans when they get ripped off.

Domonoske said the correspondence between the academy and Bank One "is conclusive evidence" the lender had at least an informal relationship with both schools and is therefore subject to the law. The problem, he says, is the federal agency that regulates the banking industry, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), has never forced banks to comply.

"The rules say banks can't engage in unfair and deceptive practices, but the OCC has refused to step in. It's reprehensible," Domonoske says.

"There is no accountability in the American legal system for banks that refuse to follow the law. It's up to the people to stop them," he added.

The Gorders filed a complaint against Bank One with the OCC several weeks ago. The OCC, in turn, referred the matter back to Bank One.

In a letter, Bank One said it no longer owns the loan but the complaint will be investigated by First Marblehead. The letter is dated March 24, two days after First Marblehead officially denied Gorder's request to have his loan dissolved.

lfantin@sltrib.com