On July 9, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it settled its lawsuit against the nation’s largest debt-settlement services provider for allegedly engaging in deceptive debt-settlement acts or practices. The company agreed to pay $20 million in restitution to affected consumers and a $5 million civil money penalty….
On April 11, 2019, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that the AG’s Consumer Protection Division had filed charges against affiliated businesses and their owner (defendants) alleging that they had made unlicensed and usurious consumer loans in the form of “title loans” or “title pawns” secured by Maryland consumers’…
On January 16, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced that it fined a New York state-registered mortgage loan servicer $100,000 for failing to maintain two properties in New York under New York’s Abandoned Property Relief Act, which requires banks and mortgage services to fulfill certain maintenance obligations at…
On January 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the State of New York announced that they had filed a consent order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.to settle allegations that a jewelry retailer enrolled customers in credit cards and related products without their consent….
On December 28, 2018, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (“Division”) entered into a consent agreement with a licensed debt collector to resolve allegations that it had engaged in debt collection practices that were not compliant with applicable state law. The consent agreement follows a compliance examination of the company. The…
On December 14, the Florida Attorney General (AG) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $23 million federal district court judgment against the owner of an Orlando-based “robocall” operation. The massive robocall operation tricked consumers into paying upfront fees of $500 to $1500 for false credit card interest-rate-reduction and debt-elimination services,…
On December 12, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $14.5 million settlement of a whistleblower suit alleging False Claims Act violations against a lender who endorsed loans for insurance by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”). The settlement resolves an investigation triggered by a qui tam lawsuit filed by a former employee of the…
On December 11, 2018, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (“Division”) entered into a consent agreement with a California small loan company and licensed debt collector to resolve allegations that the company had collected interest in excess of the maximum amount permitted under state law. The consent agreement follows a compliance…
On December 7, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida had entered stipulated orders banning the operators of two Florida-based student loan debt relief providers from the debt relief business, the latest actions from the Operation Game of Loans enforcement initiative targeting…
On December 6, 2018, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“CFPB”) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a federal savings association headquartered in Bloomington, Ill. According to the consent order, the CFPB alleged that the savings association violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.,…
On November 1, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the New York Attorney General’s Office announced their lawsuit against a New York-based debt collection operation, which alleges that the debt collection entities tricked people into agreeing to pay more money than what they allegedly owed in violation of Section 13(b) of the…
On Monday, October 29, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with an online student loan refinancer relating to charges that the company deceptively advertised inflated figures for more than two years, in violation of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45. According to the complaint,…
On September 21, New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced a stipulated court order against three entities and individuals for illegal debt collection practices (collectively, “defendants”), which permanently bans the defendants from the debt collection industry and requires collective payment of almost $27 million in restitution and damages. The court…
On September 20, New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced a lawsuit against nine student loan debt relief companies, their financing company, and two individuals with leadership roles in several of the companies (collectively, “defendants”). The lawsuit alleges that defendants violated the Federal Credit Repair Organization Act, 15 U.S.C. §…
On July 26, 2018, the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced a lawsuit against five Pennsylvania mortgage foreclosure companies and two company owners for cheating consumers into signing contracts to have their mortgage loans modified—but never delivering the services paid for—in violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer…
On June 13, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its settlement with a South Carolina corporation and its subsidiaries over allegations that the companies engaged in improper debt collection and credit furnishing practices. According to the consent order, the CFPB found that the companies made improper in-person and…
On June 11, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had settled claims against an individual and his loan debt relief companies in connection with its coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative to target deceptive student loan debt relief scams, called “Operation Game of Loans.” Enforcement Watch covered a similar enforcement action earlier…
On December 8, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had settled allegations that a Louisiana-based mortgage lender violated the False Claims Act (FCA) through its underwriting of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgage loans. In the lawsuit, which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the…
On October 17, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it obtained a $4.1 million default judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against a phony debt collection operation that sold lists of fake payday loan debts to debt collectors. According to the FTC, the operation harassed consumers for debts…
On September 26, 2017, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (AG) announced that she sued a Massachusetts used car dealership for allegedly using predatory practices to sell poor quality cars with high cost loans. The AG’s lawsuit asserts that the dealership violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, G.L. c. 93A, § 4, by…