On April 15, 2019, the FTC announced that it had reached a settlement with an online lending company for $3.85 million, resolving allegations that the company had engaged in unfair and deceptive loan servicing practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), 15 U.S.C. § 45, the Telemarketing Sales…
On February 25, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that, after a public comment period, it approved a final consent order that had been negotiated in October of 2018 with an online student loan refinancer. The FTC had charged the company with misrepresenting how much student loan borrowers could save if they refinanced their loans through the company’s television, print,…
On February 8, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina granted its motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against 10 debt collection companies and six individuals operating out of New York and North Carolina. The FTC alleged…
On November 20, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that a federal court issued an injunction to halt and freeze the assets of a California-based student loan debt relief scheme. Two weeks prior, the FTC filed a complaint against the operators of the scheme, alleging deceptive acts and practices in violation of Section 5(a)…
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 October 18, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued an order requiring a Kentucky bank to pay civil money penalties. The order resolves allegations that the bank violated section 122(a) of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. § 1632(a), and section 1026.5(a)(1) of Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. § 1026.5(a)(1) by failing…
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 July 26, 2018, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) announced a multi-million dollar settlement with a Kentucky bank over allegations of unlawful banking practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. According to the Consent Order, the bank made misrepresentations and failed to disclose certain information to consumers about…
On July 20, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reached a $30 million settlement with a South Dakota bank over allegations that the bank had engaged in deceptive practices with respect to its overdraft services in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade…
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 June 7, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement and stipulated order for permanent injunction arising from a lawsuit brought by the FTC concerning allegedly illegal mortgage relief practices. The FTC initiated an action against several defendants in January 2018 alleging violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15…
On June 4, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with a North Carolina debt collection company and its principals over alleged illegal collection practices. In August 2017, the FTC filed an action against the defendants alleging violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15…
On May 8, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted its request to preliminarily enjoin affiliated California-based debt relief companies from continuing operations, and to freeze their assets. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the companies violated Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act,…
On May 1, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) entered into a consent order with a national bank for deceptive marketing and banking practices that allegedly resulted in violations of federal law. According to the consent order, the OCC alleged that the bank had violated Section…
On April 20, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) each announced settlements totaling $1 billion with a national bank resulting from a coordinated action between the two agencies. The OCC found that deficiencies in the bank’s enterprise-wide compliance risk management program…
On April 12, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced proposed settlements with three marketers for illegal debt relief and loan services. In May 2017, the FTC filed an action against the three marketers and eleven related corporate entities claiming that the defendants engaged in a wide-scale debt relief scheme…
On March 22, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in conjunction with the New York Attorney General (AG), announced that it had entered into settlements with debt collection companies and their operators over allegedly deceptive and unlawful debt collection practices. In a February 2015 complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Western…
On March 7, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that it reached a settlement with a Delaware bank, resolving allegations that the bank engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “FTC Act”) and violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act,…
On February 7, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced an enforcement action against a student loan debt relief operation, claiming it deceived consumers out of $28 million by falsely promising that their monthly payments would go towards their student loans. In the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern…