On July 14, 2016, the CFPB announced that it ordered a bank to pay $10 million in fines for its overdraft service practices. According to the CFPB, the bank’s telemarketing vendor used allegedly deceptive marketing and sales pitches to mislead consumers to sign up for its overdraft service without the consumers’ consent. The overdraft…
On June 8, 2016, the Michigan Attorney General announced that a Michigan court entered a default judgment and permanent injunction against an automobile title loan company over alleged usurious loans that violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. According to the Attorney General, the company charged usurious interest rates on automobile title loans, engaged…
On June 8, 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it entered into a settlement agreement with a national bank over allegations the bank engaged in discriminatory lending practices in violation of the Fair Housing Act. According to HUD, the bank discriminated against African American, Latino American and…
On June 8, 2016, the Colorado Attorney General announced that several national lenders were ordered to pay approximately $8 million in restitution to Colorado consumers over alleged usurious loans, which violated Colorado’s Consumer Protection Act. The lenders allegedly originated loans with interest rates that reached as high as 355%. In…
On June 6, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it filed a lawsuit against a third-party payment processor and two of the company’s executives over allegations the company permitted unauthorized withdrawals from consumer accounts, in violation of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection Act. The company facilitated ACH payment transactions between…
On June 6, 2016, the West Virginia Attorney General announced a settlement with a regional online lender over allegations that the lender’s business practices violated West Virginia’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act. The company markets and sells online installment loans, through an alleged “bank-partnership model.” Under the bank-partnership model, a company partners…
For the first quarter of 2016, Consumer Finance Enforcement Watch tracked 50 enforcement actions taken against consumer finance providers, marking a slight increase from the 46 actions we had tracked a year ago in Q1 2015. Of the Q1 2016 enforcement actions, the majority were settlement agreements. Consistent with the…
On May 19, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it filed a lawsuit against a national mortgage company relating to the company’s participation in the Direct Endorsement Lender Program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance program. A qui tam plaintiff…
On May 5, 2016, Nebraska Attorney General (“AG”) Doug Peterson and the Department of Banking and Finance announced a settlement with unlicensed online lenders that allegedly engaged in unfair and deceptive lending practices through a tribal lending scheme. The Nebraska AG brought an action on May 4, 2016 against several online lending…
On May 2, 2016, the North Carolina Attorney General (“AG”) announced that a state court judge temporarily banned online auto lenders from engaging in allegedly deceptive lending practices, including charging unlawful fees. The North Carolina AG filed suit against the unlicensed lenders for allegedly charging excessive interest rates and engaging…
On April 25, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it entered into two settlements, available here and here, with a law firm and a financial services company over allegations the entities filed debt collection lawsuits without properly verifying the underlying debt obligations, in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act…
On April 25, 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it entered into a settlement agreement with a regional bank over allegations the bank engaged in discriminatory lending practices in violation of the Fair Housing Act. According to HUD, the bank discriminated against racial minorities by refusing…
On April 15, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a mortgage company settled claims it violated the False Claims Act by originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that failed to comply with certain requirements for the FHA insurance program. The settlement…
On April 21, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed two lawsuits in federal court in the Central District for California against the founders of an online lead aggregator website, which allegedly sold loan applications to lenders and other companies without properly vetting the sources of the data…
On April 13, 2016, the New York Attorney General announced the filing of a lawsuit against several affiliated companies and individuals who lease credit card transaction processing equipment to small business owners. The Attorney General alleges that the companies engaged in fraudulent and deceptive practices by inducing individuals into signing lease…
On April 13, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) assessed a $35 million dollar penalty against a national bank for billing practices alleged to be unfair and deceptive in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The penalty was assessed in connection with a credit…
On April 7, 2016, the Washington Attorney General (“AG”) announced settlements with six student loan adjustment companies which were alleged to have “preyed on students” by charging excessive fees. The Washington AG claimed that these firms violated Washington’s Debt Adjustment Act and Consumer Protection Act by overcharging 346 Washington students…
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…