On August 17, 2015, the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office announced it entered a cease and desist order against a regional consumer credit services company. According to the Attorney General, the company solicited business using illegal robocalls that promised interest rate reductions and other loan modification services. The company allegedly called…
On August 13, 2015, the Ohio Attorney General announced that it had filed a complaint against several loan modification companies that allegedly misrepresented to Ohio consumers the nature of their services. The complaint alleges that the companies violated the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Ohio Debt Adjuster’s Act by representing…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has set its sights on debt collection practices again. In April, we wrote about the CFPB’s $63 million settlement with a mortgage servicer, Green Tree Mortgage, in part for Green Tree’s alleged treatment of mortgage debt. On July 8, 2015, the CFPB once again demonstrated it was…
On July 28, the North Carolina Attorney General announced that it obtained a default judgment against a mortgage broker and its president in North Carolina Superior Court. The Attorney General brought claims against the defendants under the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1. The Attorney General alleged that the…
On July 17, 2015, the Attorney General for the State of Colorado (“Colorado AG”) filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court alleging that a retailer and its related companies repeatedly violated Colorado’s consumer lending laws concerning credit extended to military servicemembers. The action is the second lawsuit filed by the Colorado AG in the…
On July 13, 2015, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced a settlement with two Philadelphia-based mortgage loan modification companies following an investigation by the states’ Bureau of Consumer Protection. According to the Attorney General’s announcement, the Bureau initiated the investigation as a result of consumer complaints filed against the companies for,…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent action against two credit card vendors regarding credit monitoring and identity theft protection services is a reminder of the legal risks associated with certain add-on products. The July 1 settlement, in which the CFPB found that the vendors misled customers about the benefits of…
On July 8, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that claims concerning a bank’s alleged debt collection practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”) had been settled for over $200 million. According to the consent order, the bank “sold to debt buyers certain accounts that were inaccurate, settled, discharged…
On June 23, 2015, the West Virginia Attorney General announced a settlement with an automobile title loan and debt collection company over claims the company engaged in abusive debt collection practices. According to the West Virginia Attorney General, the company repeatedly called consumers at inconvenient times regarding their delinquent loan payments and…
On June 22, 2015, the Maryland Attorney General announced a settlement with two regional mortgage and credit consulting companies and their sole owner over claims the companies made false representations regarding their ability to obtain mortgage approval for consumers, solicited illegal advance fees, and engaged in credit counseling without the…
On May 29, 2015, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the State of Florida a final default judgment against a Florida Foreclosure Relief Company and its corporate affiliates based on the company’s failure to answer or otherwise…
On May 22, 2015, the Michigan Attorney General (“AG”) and its Homeowner Protection Unit filed charges in Oakland County’s 48th District Court against a Michigan mortgage company and its owner alleging that the owner and mortgage company engaged in a scheme to defraud borrowers by promising to modify mortgages for…
On May 20, 2015, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, along with attorneys general of thirty other states (“the State AGs”), announced a $6,000,000 settlement with three major credit reporting agencies (“CRAs”). According to the announcement and the Settlement Agreement, the settlement is a culmination of a multistate investigation that the…
On May 13, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman annouced that the AG obtained default judgment against Brooklyn and Florida Law Firms and the firms’ principal attorney for participating in a fraudulent mortgage rescue scheme. The AG’s petition alleged that, directly and through their third-party marketers, the firms collected…
On May 8, 2015, the Colorado Attorney General announced that it filed suit against a Colorado corporation for violations of Colorado lending and consumer protection laws. The company allegedly sought members of the military and their families as customers. The company would then sell goods on credit, offer consumer loans, and then collect…
On May 4, 2015, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced five lawsuits filed on behalf of the State against student loan debt settlement services companies based in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, and Illinois. The complaints allege that the companies violated Illinois’ consumer protection laws by charging hundreds to thousands of…
On April 29, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Maryland Attorney General announced the filing of a complaint and proposed consent order against a regional title insurance company, its principals, and certain loan officers. The title company allegedly provided payments to loan officers in exchange for referrals for…
On April 27, 2015, the Colorado Attorney General announced that it released restitution payments to over 20,000 homeowners in connection with a settlement reached with a foreclosure law firm. On July 14 2014, the Colorado Attorney General filed a complaint against the law firm, alleging that the law firm charged inflated…
On April 20, 2015, the Tennessee Attorney General announced that it and the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs reached a settlement with a state auto dealer over allegations that the auto dealer violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act by mailing two false advertisements to consumers. The allegedly false advertisements purported…
On April 7, 2015, the Washington State Attorney General Office announced that it filed suit against a California-based student-loan debt-adjustment company, alleging that the company charged illegal fees in violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act and the state’s Debt Adjusting Act. According to the complaint, the company allegedly marketed services…