At 23 years old, Rachel Lindor is $80,000 in debt from a Penn State biology degree she never received -- at no fault of her own, lawyer Kevin Mallon said.
"We don't have a legal basis to sue Penn State, but we think there is an ethical basis for them to help her," he said last week.
But Penn State spokeswoman Jill Shockey said Tuesday the university's conduct has been misrepresented.
In her junior year, Lindor became a victim of mistaken identity, said Mallon, of Fishman and Neil, LPP in New York, N.Y.
Rachel Lindor's credit report had apparently been tied to the credit report of another person who shared her last name. The two Lindors shared the same address, but it's unclear who the second Lindor is or if he or she even exists, said Joel Leiderman, an associate attorney for the firm that issued summons to the unknown Lindor for credit card debt.
Mallon, however, said the other Lindor's name is Raqul Lindor and that a suit was filed against that person.
"The killer is that I couldn't graduate with my friends," Lindor, who would have graduated in 2008, said. "I put on a brave face and was happy for them, but that should have been my graduation."
Rachel Lindor's student loans were denied in August 2006, when American Education Services pulled her credit report -- which reflected the other Lindor's bad credit, Mallon said.
Penn State allowed Lindor to continue on her studies on a temporary basis, attending lectures but not labs, Mallon said.
"I was basically begging teachers to let me go to class and take exams," Lindor said.
She had a 2.8 GPA in her junior year. When prohibited from taking her finals because she had not paid her tuition bill, it dropped to a 1.98, just below the 2.0 requirement to receive student loans, Mallon said. Lindor eventually dropped out of Penn State.
"The plan was go to college, go to Penn State... apply for med school, but that's not how it turned out at all," Lindor said. "I'm paying a lot of money, and I have nothing to show for it."
Though the other credit report was separated from hers in January 2007, Lindor still has bad credit. She lost her job in the cafeteria shortly before dropping out, leaving her unable to pay her bills and student loans, Mallon said.
She is currently working at a community college for $9 per hour to pay for her student loans.
"I would like [Penn State] to provide some form of funding, whether a loan, scholarship or loan deferment for her to go back," Mallon said.
After Mallon e-mailed various university representatives on Thursday, an assistant dean put him in contact with Penn State's legal counsel, Mallon said. Mallon spoke with university lawyers Monday, though he said they have not had "substantive contact."
"When this all gets resolved, I'll be more than willing to tell everyone how fantastic Penn State is," Mallon said. Several people in the Penn State community did try to help Lindor at the time of the incident, he said.
University spokeswoman Lisa Powers denied comment, saying the matter concerned pending litigation. She said she had read in a newspaper that Lindor would be filing a suit against the university.
Mallon filed three state lawsuits against AT&T Wireless, the Law Offices of Forster & Garbus of Farmingdale, N.Y., and Palisades Collection Agency of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. He also filed a federal suit against TransUnion, a consumer credit reporting agency.
Mallon is not seeking a specific amount in the four suits he filed on Lindor's behalf. However, he is pursing damages for the harm to her career and emotional distress she has experienced.
"This is an interesting case -- it's strange," said Ron Forster, a senior partner with the Farmingdale firm. "It needs to be sorted through to see who is responsible for her name appearing in the credit report."
To e-mail reporter: arb5307@psu.edu
