On November 24, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AG’s Office”) announced that it has reached two separate settlement agreements with student debt relief companies. The two companies agreed to assurances of discontinuance and agreed to pay $56,000 and $40,000 respectively relating to allegations of charging illegal upfront fees prior to delivering full…
On November 24, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System announced the execution of two settlement agreements in enforcement actions against two regional banks concerning alleged violations of the National Flood Insurance Act (“NFIA”), 42 U.S.C. § 4012a(f)(4). The Board of Governors asserted that where a pattern or practice of violations of the NFIA is found, civil money penalties can be…
On November 23, 2015, the Attorney General’s Office for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts reached a settlement agreement with a Massachusetts force-place-insurance company relating to allegations that it required homeowners to purchase unnecessary or overpriced force-placed insurance policies. Force-placed insurance is a form of homeowner’s insurance that may be acquired by a lender or mortgage…
On October 15, 2015, the New Jersey Attorney General announced that the New Jersey of Division of Consumer Affairs reached settlements with three companies and one individual to resolve allegations that the businesses falsely represented they were needed to help consumers obtain “surplus funds” remaining after a property foreclosure sale. “Surplus funds” are funds…
On September 4, 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that a company engaged in reverse mortgage servicing agreed to pay $29.63 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in connection with its participation in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage…
On September 3, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) agreed to settle allegations with a mortgage relief services company that allegedly charged homeowners an illegal fee for assistance the company never provided. The FTC brought its claims under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTCA”), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule (“MARS…
On September 1, 2015, North Carolina Special Court Superior Judge Gregory P. McGuire issued a preliminary injunction barring a North Dakota-based online fast cash lender from advertising, lending, and collection activity in the state of North Carolina. The preliminary injunction bars the lender and its affiliated companies from advertising, offering or entering into contracts to…
On August 31, 2015, the owner of a now-defunct New Jersey title company pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree theft and second-degree misconduct by a corporate official for failing to make required disposition of settlement funds. The investigation was spearheaded by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes…
On July 23, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed a complaint and proposed consent order in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in connection with a settlement reached with a student loan lender that offered fee-based assistance to consumers filling out the federal government’s Free Application…
On July 22, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a consent order against a national bank and its affiliates for its servicing practices affecting private student loan borrowers. The order asserts that the bank violated various sections of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”) and the Fair…
On July 21, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a consent order requiring a national bank and its subsidiaries to provide roughly $700 million in consumer relief due to the bank’s practices relating to its credit card services and add-on products. The consent order states that a CFPB review of the bank’s practices…
On July 17, 2015, the Attorney General for the State of Colorado (“Colorado AG”) filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court alleging that a retailer and its related companies repeatedly violated Colorado’s consumer lending laws concerning credit extended to military servicemembers. The action is the second lawsuit filed by the Colorado AG in the…
On July 13, 2015, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced a settlement with two Philadelphia-based mortgage loan modification companies following an investigation by the states’ Bureau of Consumer Protection. According to the Attorney General’s announcement, the Bureau initiated the investigation as a result of consumer complaints filed against the companies for,…
On July 14, 2015, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida announced that the owner of a Miami-area mortgage company, his business partner, and a senior mortgage underwriter each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. As part of the owner’s plea, he will forfeit $8…
On May 29, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) entered into two consent orders with a National Bank regarding the bank’s non-home loan compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) and the bank’s practices in connection with non-home debt collection litigation practices. The OCC estimates…
On May 29, 2015, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the State of Florida a final default judgment against a Florida Foreclosure Relief Company and its corporate affiliates based on the company’s failure to answer or otherwise…
On May 28, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a joint complaint and proposed consent order against a national mortgage lender in the United States District Court for Northern District of California. The complaint alleges that the lender violated the Equal Credit…
On May 22, 2015, the Michigan Attorney General (“AG”) and its Homeowner Protection Unit filed charges in Oakland County’s 48th District Court against a Michigan mortgage company and its owner alleging that the owner and mortgage company engaged in a scheme to defraud borrowers by promising to modify mortgages for…