On March 28, the Massachusetts Attorney General (“AG”) announced that a lender agreed to resolve allegations that it made predatory and illegal loans to 85 Massachusetts pensioners and veterans. The lender allegedly entered into contracts with consumers, whereby the lender provided loans ranging from $1,800 to $40,000. Every month, the…
On March 28, the Massachusetts Attorney General (“AG”), together with the U.S. Secretary of Education, announced that more than 2,000 students who were allegedly defrauded by a national for-profit college are eligible to have their federal loans forgiven. In November 2015, the AG had submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Education…
On March 28, 2016, the Office of the California Attorney General announced a settlement of $8,500,000 with a national bank regarding alleged privacy violations concerning the recording of consumer telephone calls without their consent, as required by California law. The complaint alleged that the bank violated sections 632 and 632.7 of…
On March 22, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo. For those unfamiliar with the case, Tyson Foods is a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) case that involved an alleged failure to pay overtime to employees who spent significant time “donning and doffing” (putting on…
In a March 23, 2016 proposal titled “A More Promising Road to GSE Reform“, several prominent policy commentators recently outlined their suggested plan for reforming the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), which—according to these analysts—are “two enormously important yet flawed institutions”…
This time last year, LLW reported on the Department of Justice going after subprime auto lenders, and more recently we have reported on the CFPB’s targeting of subprime auto lenders. But Massachusetts has also gotten in on the regulatory action. On March 16, 2016, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (MAG) announced that American Credit…
On March 15, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order and settlement with a national student debt relief company over allegations that the company charged illegal and excessive fees. According to the Complaint, the company operated online student debt management websites that offered services related to…
On March 16, 2016, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced that two financial services companies specializing in auto loans agreed to pay a total of $7.4 million in restitution to Massachusetts consumers over allegations the companies charged excessive interest rates on auto loans. According to the Massachusetts AG, the companies purchased loans from primary creditors…
On March 18, 2016, the Massachusetts Attorney General announced that it obtained a preliminary injunction against an online auto lender over claims the company originated loans with illegal interest rates and fees in violation of Massachusetts usury laws. According to the Attorney General, the company offered online title loans to…
On March 18, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that a federal district court entered final judgment against a debt relief company over allegations the company charged illegal upfront fees and engaged in other deceptive business tactics. The CFPB filed suit against the company in 2013, alleging violations of the…
On March 17, 2016, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced that it entered into a consent order and settlement with a financial services company over allegations the company offered illegal online payday loans in New York. The company allegedly operated an online payday loan “lead generation” business. Although payday lending is…
On March 15, 2016, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced final changes to its loan-level certification form, 92900-A HUD/VA Addendum to the Uniform Residential Loan Application. The announcement represents important and highly-anticipated changes to the FHA’s required certification. The FHA’s loan-level certification form, which the lender completes for every loan…
On March 16, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), and Acting Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) announced that the government settled a False Claims Act lawsuit against a New York-based…
On February 17, 2016, the Third Circuit handed a creditor and its law firm a win in a Fair Debt Collection Practices case filed in bankruptcy court finding that a couple who sued over the Rule 2004 Examination Subpoena in their bankruptcy case could not have been misled by that…
On March 7, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it will begin collecting complaints from consumers about online marketplace lenders, signaling its intention to increasingly regulate the evolving and growing Financial Technology (Fintech) industry. The CFPB announcement emphasized that marketplace lending is “a relatively new kind of…
On March 9, 2016, the Vermont Attorney General announced a $22,000 settlement with a payment processor over its alleged violation of Vermont consumer protection laws. The Attorney General asserted that between 2012-2013, the company processed debits from over 500 consumer bank accounts on behalf of at least 36 online lenders whose interest rates often exceeded 100-300%….
On February 23, 2016, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray delivered prepared remarks (click link for full text) regarding CFPB regulation of credit unions to the Credit Union National Association. The crux of Director Cordray’s remarks was that the CFPB has affirmatively decided not to exclude credit unions from CFPB…
On February 19, the Federal Reserve noticed an information collection regarding recent changes to Regulation Z. The Notice (81 Fed. Reg. 8492) explains that the Federal Reserve is planning to update Regulation Z to include a number of regulatory requirements implemented in the past three years—particularly those promulgated by the…
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it reached an agreement with a regional bank over a disparate treatment fair housing claim. HUD alleged that the bank engaged in racially discriminatory redlining by lending less in the majority-minority neighborhood of the East Side of Kansas City, Missouri….
On February 12, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding its efforts to implement the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The full report can be reviewed here. According to the report, in 2015, the Commission: coordinated the first federal-state-local enforcement initiative targeting deceptive…