On November 2, 2022, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that a group of companies offering lead generation services violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”), 16 C.F.R. Part 310, and Pennsylvania consumer protection law, 73 P.S. §§ 201-3 and 201-4, by engaging in…
On November 18, 2022, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office (Minnesota AG) announced that it entered into a consent order with a California student-loan debt-relief company to resolve allegations that the company illegally collected fees from customers and mispresented its services to consumers. According to the Minnesota AG, the company “falsely promised consumers student-loan…
On October 11, 2022, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office (NC AG) announced that it had entered into a consent order with certain Texas-based debt collection companies, resolving allegations that those companies engaged in illegal debt collection practices in violation of various state statutes. In 2019, the NC AG filed a lawsuit in North Carolina state court alleging that…
On August 16, 2022, the Pennsylvania Attorney General announced that a group of attorneys general for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the States of New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and the District of Columbia (collectively, “the AGs”) had filed a multistate lawsuit against a personal lending company for allegedly charging consumers for “hidden add-on products” in violation of various…
On June 29, 2022, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced that it had resolved allegations that a motor vehicle title lender made illegal loans to customers and repossessed cars to collect payments, with a settlement agreement that requires the lender to pay over $900,000 in redress to consumers. The Attorney General alleged that the motor…
On May 26, 2022, the North Carolina Attorney General (NC AG) announced that it obtained a default judgment against a California-based debt settlement business, and its proprietor. The lawsuit, filed on June 25, 2021 in the North Carolina Superior Court for Wake County, alleged that the entity violated North Carolina’s Debt Adjusting Act, N.C. Gen. Stat….
On May 19, 2022, the Arizona Attorney General, along with the attorneys general of 34 other states, announced a settlement with a large subprime auto lender. If approved, the settlement would resolve a multistate investigation in which the attorneys general alleged that the lender issued high-interest loans knowing consumers were likely to default based…
On May 16, 2022, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (Arizona AG) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with the owner of several debt collection companies regarding alleged deceptive debt collection practices in violation of state law. The agreement resolves a lawsuit by the Arizona AG filed in September 2020, alleging that the companies collected or attempted to collect payments…
On April 21, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a joint enforcement action with the New York Attorney General (NY AG) against one of the largest international remittance providers in the United States. The seven-count complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges the Dallas-based company’s remittance…
On March 9, 2022 the Arizona Attorney General (AG) filed a proposed consent judgment with a California-based lender and its corporate affiliates in Arizona state court. The operative complaint, filed May 7, 2020, alleged that the defendants violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, A.R.S. § 44-1521, et seq., and state usury laws, by making…
On February 8, 2022, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (Massachusetts AG) announced that it entered into a settlement agreement with a lender concerning its subprime auto loan disclosure and debt collection practices. The Massachusetts AG filed an assurance of discontinuance in Suffolk County Superior Court alleging that the lender failed to provide consumers with adequate disclosures regarding how deficiencies…
On February 8, 2022, the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (DC AG) announced that a Delaware-based online lender has agreed to pay $3.3 million to refund over 2,500 consumers who allegedly received misleadingly high-cost loans and lines of credit. This agreement resolves a lawsuit filed by the DC AG in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia,…
On January 13, thirty-nine state Attorneys General announced that they had reached a settlement with a national student loan servicer. The settlement resolves allegations that, since 2009, the servicer had been steering borrowers into higher-cost, longer-term forbearance arrangements. The Attorneys General alleged the practices increased borrower loan balances and violated various provisions of each state’s laws. …
On November 30, the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office (DC AG) announced a settlement with an online lender targeting consumers with below-average credit, under which the lender agreed to pay $1.5 million in refunds to consumers and $250,000 to the District, and to waive over $640,000 in interest. Further, the agreement obligates the lender to reduce its interest…
On November 23, 2021, the New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) announced an agreement shutting down a Buffalo, NY based debt collection firm that the NYAG alleges violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), and various provisions of the New York General Business Laws. …
On November 5, 2021, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office (Illinois AG) announced a settlement with three online payday lending lead generators to resolve allegations that the companies violated Illinois state lending laws. The Illinois AG alleged that the lead generators violated state lending laws by generating payday loan leads without a license…
On September 30, 2021, the Minnesota Attorney General (“Minnesota AG”) announced that a federal bankruptcy court had approved $23.6 million in student debt relief and $15.8 million in restitution for students of two for-profit universities that allegedly engaged in consumer fraud and illegal lending practices. The settlement, originally announced in March 2021, resolved allegations that the universities misled students…
On September 8, 2021, the Washington Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with a debt collection company, resolving allegations that the company had violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA), RCW 19.86, and the Washington Collection Agency Act (CAA), RCW 19.16. The settlement concludes a lawsuit originally filed June…
On August 24, 2021, the Virginia Attorney General (“Virginia AG”) announced that it entered into settlement with a Virginia-based lender and its managing member over allegations that the lender violated §§ 6.2-303 and 6.2-1501(A) of Virginia’s consumer finance statute. The settlement was filed as a consent judgment in the Circuit Court for the…
On September 1, 2021, the Massachusetts Attorney General (“Massachusetts AG”) announced that an auto lending company had agreed to pay more than $27 million to resolve claims that it engaged in unfair and deceptive auto loan practices. The Massachusetts AG alleged that the company made high interest auto loans to borrowers, despite the…