On December 1, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed suit against a Massachusetts debt settlement and relief company over alleged violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) in connection with the company’s debt-settlement and debt relief services. The complaint filed in the U.S. District…
On November 5, 2020, the Federal Register published five federal financial regulatory agencies’ invitation for comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) that would codify the agencies’ Interagency Statement Clarifying the Role of Supervisory Guidance, as amended, which was issued on September 11, 2018 (2018 Statement). The 2018 Statement…
On November 20, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a Florida-based company that offers auto loans over the company’s alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The consent order, entered against both the company and personally against the company’s…
On November 20, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a complaint against an Illinois-based debt settlement company and the company’s owners for alleged violations of Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), 16 C.F.R. § 310.4, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. § 5536….
On November 19, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had reached a settlement with three California-based student loan debt relief companies and their founder after they allegedly misled consumers by falsely promising that their monthly payments would go toward lowering their student loan debt. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District…
On November 18, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had filed a complaint against a California-based mobile banking app and its founder and CEO for allegedly falsely misrepresenting to users that they would receive high interests rates on their banking accounts and that they would have constant access to their funds. According to the complaint,…
On November 16, 2020, the Maryland Attorney General (Maryland AG) announced a settlement with a Texas-based debt buyer regarding a portfolio of student loan debt the buyer purchased from a court-appointed receiver following the closure of a for-profit college. The $2,622,877 settlement immediately discharges any outstanding loans and refunds 75%…
On November 12, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with an Illinois-based debt collector that collects debts on behalf of telecommunications companies and furnishes consumer-account information to credit reporting agencies. The CFPB alleged that the debt collector violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the…
On October 30, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). According the CFPB’s press release, the new final rule is designed “to restate and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices…
On November 5, 2020, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a complaint against a California student loan debt settlement company and the company’s CEO in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint alleges that the company violated the Telemarketing Sales…
On November 5, 2020, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a complaint against a Florida-based payday lender and its CEO in the Southern District of Florida. The complaint alleges that the company violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) by engaging in deceptive acts and practices in connection with the…
As Lender Law Watch previously reported, in July 2020, to resolve the legal uncertainty discouraging many banks and companies from entering into partnerships to offer loans to consumers, the OCC issued its proposed true lender rule to address the question of which entity makes a loan when the “loan is…
On November 2, 2020, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a Texas-based auto lender. The CFPB alleged that the auto lender engaged in deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) by falsely claiming that…
On October 1, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its rule assessment for a final Rule relating to mortgage disclosures. Known as the TRID Rule, the Bureau’s final Rule implemented requirements under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) to integrate various mortgage loan disclosures under the Truth in…
On October 26, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it had a reached a settlement with a Utah-based mortgage lender and broker, resolving allegations that the lender had engaged in deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536 (CFPA),…
On October 26, 2020, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii announced that a federal judge sentenced the owner of a fraudulent mortgage relief scheme to 240 months’ imprisonment, after the jury convicted the owner of 32 counts of wire fraud and mail fraud. The owner created two companies, neither of which…
On October 22, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a settlement with a San Diego-based national mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the company had originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) without following program…
On October 20, 2020, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal (“NJ AG”) and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs announced that they had filed suit in New Jersey state court against a national student loan servicer for alleged unconscionable commercial practices and deception and misrepresentations made to thousands of New…
On September 28, 2020, Judge Martin C. Feldman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued an important decision that could impact Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation involving alleged robocalls across the United States. See Creasy v. Charter Commc’ns, Inc., No. 20-cv-1199, 2020 WL…
On October 15, 2020, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has reached a proposed settlement with the nation’s largest debt collector. The CFPB previously reached a consent order with this company in 2015 for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA),…