On March 10, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it obtained a permanent injunction and monetary judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (the Court) against three defendants that allegedly deceptively marketed student loan debt relief services. The Court’s order was entered on February 27, 2020, and found that the defendants had failed to deliver promised debt relief to consumers whom they had allegedly tricked into paying illegal upfront fees in violation of Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 53(b), and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, 15 U.S.C. Sections 6101–6108.
The defendants are banned from participating or assisting others in telemarketing, and from participating or assisting others in advertising, marketing, promoting, offering, or selling, any secured or unsecured debt relief products or services. The Court also ordered defendants to pay the FTC over $10.7 million in equitable monetary relief.