The attorneys general of nine states are asking the Department of Education to wipe away the federal student loans for borrowers who took on debt to attend a school that they say broke the law.

The top law enforcement officials of Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington sent a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Thursday asking his department to “immediately relieve” borrowers of the student loans “incurred as a result of violations of state law” by Corinthian Colleges. The letter follows earlier letters from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, as well as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Senate Democrats asking the DOE to forgive the debt.

“Our greatest concern comes from certain large, predatory for-profit schools that are actively undermining our federal loan programs, depriving students of the education they promise and that the students deserve,” the letter reads. “These institutions seem to exist largely to capture federal loan dollars and aggressively market their programs to veterans and low-income Americans.”

Corinthian and the DOE reached an agreement in July to sell or shut down all of the company’s campuses amid allegations the school misrepresented its graduation and job-placement rates and pushed students into high-cost loans. The company is currently facing lawsuits from the states of California, Massachusetts, Wisconsin as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Corinthian disputes the allegations made in the letter, Joe Hixon, a spokesman for the company, wrote in an email.

“These allegations focus on isolated incidents and ignore that for many years, tens of thousands of Corinthian graduates completed their studies, were certified in their areas of study and obtained employment in their chosen field,” he wrote.

Although Corinthian is in the process of shutting down, it’s unclear what happens to the federal student debt that was incurred by thousands of students to earn what they view as useless degrees. In the letter, the Attorneys General write that even though the state lawsuits seek some fixes, the “most expedient way to help students” would be to have the DOE forgive the loans. The AGs urge the DOE to forgive students’ debts on the basis of a little-used statute called “defense to repayment,” which gives the department the authority to wipe away federal loans of students who attended an institution that engaged in wrongdoing. The AGs write that the various lawsuits provide enough fodder to merit a defense to repayment.

They’re also asking the department to give clearer guidance on what constitutes a legitimate defense to repayment claim. There’s no application process or form available for those seeking defense to repayment claims, according to a recent blog post from Adam Minsky, a Boston-based lawyer who specializes in student loan issues.

“The Department shares the attorneys general’s concern for the welfare of Corinthian students and we look forward to responding to their letter,” Denise Horn, a Department of Education spokeswoman wrote in an email.

Hundreds of Corinthian students delivered defense to repayment appeals to the steps of the Department of Education last week as part of an effort by the Debt Collective, an Occupy Wall Street offshoot advocating for student-loan borrowers.

About 100 Corinthian students organized by the debt collective are simply refusing to pay off their federal loans. Members of that group, known as the “Corinthian 100,” met with officials from the education department and the CFPB last week.