On March 24, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it entered into a consent order with a debt collection company, resolving allegations that the company engaged in unfair and abusive debt collection practices in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p, and section 5 of…
On March 10, 2017, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office (“Illinois AG”) announced that it had brought criminal contempt charges against the former proprietor of a debt collection business (the “defendant”). The defendant is accused of operating a new debt collection business, which is an alleged violation of a consent decree concerning…
On Friday, February 24, 2017, more than half of the U.S. states’ attorneys general (the Amici States) filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioners in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., a case that is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Amici States, along with the petitioners, urge…
On February 14, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had entered into a stipulated order with a student loan debt collector, resolving allegations that the debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) in its servicing of over two million accounts in…
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit has created a circuit split regarding the interpretation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In Vien-Phung Ho v. ReconTrust Co. et al., case no. 10-56884, the court held that the trustee of a California deed of trust is not a “debt collector” under the…
On January 9, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with two affiliated medical debt collection law firms over allegations that the law firms used deceptive collection letters and illegally notarized collection affidavits. The consent order alleges that the law firms would send debtors collection…
On January 9, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against one individual and affiliated companies, alleging that they sold portfolios of nonexistent payday loans to debt collectors. The complaint alleges that the companies fabricated lenders and loan…
On December 16, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Moneytree, Inc., which offers payday loans and other financial services, entered into a consent order that requires Moneytree to pay approximately $255,000 in restitution to consumers and to pay an additional civil money penalty of $250,000. The consent order concerns the CFPB’s allegations that…
On December 17, 2016, the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office (“Arkansas AG”) announced that it had filed a lawsuit against affiliated auto dealerships for violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The Arkansas AG alleged that these auto dealerships would submit loan applications to third-party lenders, who would then deposit…
On November 30, 2016, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office announced that it had secured a judgment in Colorado state court against affiliated lenders who operated an illegal auto title loan scheme. The companies allegedly used fictitious names in extending credit services, and allegedly charged consumers usurious interest rates for personal…
On November 18, 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“USAO”) announced that the co-owner and chief financial officer of a debt collection company, and a company manager, pleaded guilty to engaging in illegal and abusive debt collection practices. The Court also sentenced another company employee to…
On November 21, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced that an individual defendant was sentenced for his participation in an allegedly fraudulent debt relief scheme. The defendant worked for two companies in Orange County, California that offered to settle credit card debts. According to…
On November 18, 2016, the Attorney General for the State of Vermont (Vermont AG) announced that it had entered into a settlement with a California student loan debt consolidation company related to the company’s business of helping consumers consolidate their loans to reduce their student loan debt. As part of the settlement, the…
On November 14, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced that four California individual defendants were sentenced for their participation in an allegedly fraudulent debt relief scheme. The defendants all worked for two companies in Orange County, California that offered to settle credit card debts. According to the DOJ,…
On November 10, 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the owner of a debt collection company was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $3.9 million in restitution to consumers. After a five day trial, the jury found that…
On November 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and New York Attorney General (AG) announced the filing of a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York against participants in a purported New York-based nationwide debt collection scheme. According to the complaint, the…
On October 31, the United States District Court for the Western District of New York granted the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) motion for summary judgment against a group of debt collectors, finding that the debt collectors violated the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)….
On November 1, 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (U.S. Attorney) announced that the owner, president, and chief executive officer of a debt collection company pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme to coerce thousands of consumers across the country into making debt payments through false threats and…
For the second quarter of 2016, Consumer Enforcement Watch tracked 46 enforcement actions taken against consumer finance providers. This represents a slight decrease from the 50 enforcement actions that were tracked last quarter, and a decrease from the 56 actions that we tracked in the second quarter of 2015. Approximately two-thirds of…
On October 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with a national credit union over allegations that the credit union made false and misleading representations to consumers when attempting to collect on past due accounts. The credit union serves military members and their families. The…