Tens of thousands of students who attended Corinthian Colleges, a now-defunct for-profit college chain, could be eligible for student loan relief.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as several states attorneys general announced a proposed settlement Thursday, which if approved, would require private equity firm, Aequitas Capital Management, to forgive $183.3 million worth of student loans that the firm helped fund for former students of Corinthian Colleges. About 41,000 students could be eligible for debt relief under the agreement, which is subject to approval by a U.S. District Court judge in Oregon, where Aequitas was based.

“Tens of thousands of Corinthian students were harmed by the predatory lending scheme funded by Aequitas, turning dreams of higher education into a nightmare,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement.

Corinthian Colleges filed for bankruptcy in 2015, amid accusations the school used inflated job placement and graduation rates to lure students. In a complaint accompanying the settlement, the CFPB also outlined an alleged loan scheme of which Aequitas was a part. Through that scheme Aequitas funded and purchased private loans with high interest and default rates offered to Corinthian students as a way for the school to stay in line with federal regulations governing for-profit colleges, the CFPB alleges.

For-profit colleges are subject to a regulation known as the 90/10 rule, which requires that they can’t get more than 90% of their revenue from federal financial aid. In an effort to comply with the regulation, Corinthian raised its tuition beyond the maximum students could take out through the federal financial aid program, the CFPB alleges. Because many of their students couldn’t afford to pay the extra tuition outright, Corinthian created its own loan initiative called the Genesis Loan Program, which offered loans featuring interest rates as high as 18%, the CFPB claims.

Wonder how we got to over $1 trillion in student debt? Watch this.

Starting in 2011, Aequitas purchased the program’s existing loans from Corinthian and began funding or purchasing new loans issued by other institutions through the program, according to the CFPB complaint. But Corinthian agreed to buy back any loans that were more than 90 days delinquent, meaning that the school took on the risk of the loan program while Aequitas was able to collect on the well-performing high interest loans, the CFPB alleges.

The loan program had default rates of between 50% and 70%, according to the CFPB, which means it “essentially functioned as a loss leader” for Corinthian, because the school was able to draw in more federal funds with little consideration to how the students fared.

“Corinthian students, however, were never told that the portion of tuition funded by the Genesis Loans, as well as the loans themselves, were a sham to get access to federal funds,” the CFPB complaint alleges. “Indeed, Corinthian students were the ones left holding the bag, often with expensive debt that many would not be able to repay.”

If the deal is approved, Aequitas would be required to forgive the loans of Corinthian students who didn’t graduate or complete their coursework and who were attending Corinthian campuses, which closed in April 2015. Students who withdrew from the school on or after July 1, 2014 would also be eligible and those students who were enrolled, but did not complete their coursework at Corinthian College campuses that were sold Zenith Education Group and then closed. Borrowers with any Genesis loans that were more than 270 days past due could also have their loans forgiven. Aequitas would also be required to slash the principal on all other Genesis loans on its books by up to 55%.

Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission took action against Aequitas. The agency accused it of defrauding more than 1,500 investors. A receiver is now in charge of winding down and distributing the company’s assets.