On March 11, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of Virginia filed a consent order and settlement with a Virginia-based credit union for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleged that the defendant unlawfully charged…
On September 30, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with an auto lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Following an investigation which began in 2019, the DOJ filed a complaint that same day in the United States District Court for the Northern…
On September 29, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with a California-based auto lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a simultaneously-filed complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the DOJ…
On September 20, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), resolving allegations that the state agency unlawfully obtained default judgments against two military servicemembers for student loan debt in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a…
On November 2, 2018, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a settlement with a New York based credit union, resolving allegations that the credit union had illegally repossessed cars owned by servicemembers on active duty in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3952 (“SCRA”). Under…
On September 27, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had reached a settlement with a Washington-based foreclosure services company, resolving allegations that the company violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901-4043 (“SCRA”) when foreclosing on certain servicemembers’ home. The SCRA protects servicemembers on active duty from having their…
On March 28, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced it had filed a lawsuit in the Central District of California against an auto lender for allegedy repossessing the vehicles of members of the armed forces protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3952. According to the complaint,…
On February 22, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had entered into a settlement with an auto financial services company for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3955(f) relating to upfront leases. In its complaint, filed the same day in the United States District…
On November 9, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its lawsuit against a foreclosure trustee for wrongfully foreclosing on at least twenty-eight servicemembers in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3953. The SCRA prohibits foreclosure on the home of a servicemember during active military service…
On September 27, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had entered into a $760,000 settlement with two affiliated auto finance companies stemming from allegations that the companies violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), 50 U.S.C. § 3901, et seq., by failing to obtain court orders prior to repossessing vehicles owned…
On September 18, 2017, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had entered into a $907,000 settlement with an auto loan lender and servicer (“Defendant”). In its complaint, filed the same day in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the DOJ alleged that the Defendant had…
On September 29, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a national bank over allegations that the bank had engaged in unlawful debt collection practices, in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA extends additional protections from certain debt…
On August 8, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that an auto financing company agreed to pay $434,500 to settle alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The DOJ alleged in its complaint that the company illegally repossessed 75 automobiles from service members during their service between 2008…
On July 26, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it filed a lawsuit against a regional credit union over alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA prohibits lenders from repossessing servicemembers’ vehicles without a court order while servicemembers are on activity military duty. The DOJ alleged in…
On October 28, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered an administrative consent order against an Ohio-based auto lender that specializes in loans to military servicemembers. The CFPB consent order, and the companion stipulated order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, resolve…
On August 21, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that it had concluded its investigation into several related national banks regarding alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The Act prohibits certain debt collection activities against members of the armed forces. Before proceeding with judicial…
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 February 25, 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a settlement with a national motor vehicle lender over allegations that the company repossessed over 1,1000 cars in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. Sections 501-597b. A consent order was filed in the U.S. District Court for…