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Goodwin Year-In-Review Confirms 2022 Was a Regulatory Harbinger of What is in Store for The Consumer Finance Industry In 2023

Global law firm Goodwin today announced the release of its seventh annual Consumer Finance Year in Review. Produced by the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement + Government Investigations practices, and authored by partners Anthony Alexis, Sabrina Rose-Smith, Kyle Tayman, Levi Swank, Matt Riffee, and Christina Hennecken, the in-depth…

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COVID-19 and Consumer Financial Services: Navigating New U.S. and State Orders, Rules, Laws, Guidance, and Pleas

Over the past several weeks, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has sparked a litany of new orders, rules, laws, guidance, and plain asks from federal and state leaders, agencies, and courts. The President and federal and state leaders have all begun to focus on how COVID-19 is likely to impact Americans’…

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CFPB and New York AG Settle Claims with Debt Collection Group for $65 Million

On July 25, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the New York Attorney General (“New York AG”) announced that they have filed two proposed settlements with three debt collection companies and two individuals who conducted business together in Buffalo, New York.  The proposed settlements were filed in the U.S. District Court for…

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Delaware Consumer Protection Unit Reaches Settlement with Two California Loan Modification Companies

​On July 23, 2019, Delaware’s Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Unit (“Delaware CPU”) announced that it reached a settlement​ with two-California based companies that would require them to cease advertising and selling loan modification and debt relief services in the state of Delaware. According to the cease and desist agreement, the companies and their…

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New York AG and FTC Secure Judgment Against Alleged Phantom Debt Collection Scheme

On July 1, 2019, New York Attorney General Letitia James (“New York AG”) announced that together with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the agencies had entered into a settlement with a debt collection company, a related entity, and corporate officers to resolve a case filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of New…

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FTC Finalizes Consent Order Against Online Student Loan Refinancer

On February 25, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that, after a public comment period, it approved a final consent order that had been negotiated in October of 2018 with an online student loan refinancer. The FTC had charged the company with misrepresenting how much student loan borrowers could save if they refinanced their loans through the company’s television, print,…

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Reverse Mortgage Servicer Settles Alleged FCA Violations with DOJ for $4.25 Million

On December 21, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with a mortgage servic​er for $4.25 million, resolving allegations of unlawful reverse mortgage servicing practices. According to the DOJ, the company violated the False Claims Act with respect to its servicing of reverse mortgages, or Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)…

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DOJ Announces $750,000 Settlement with Washington Foreclosure Services Company

​On September 27, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had reached a settlement with a Washington-based foreclosure services company, resolving allegations that the company violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901-4043 (“SCRA”) when foreclosing on certain servicemembers’ home.  The SCRA protects servi​cemembers on active duty from having their…

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UPDATE: CFPB's $21.6 Million Settlement Concerning Student Loan Servicing and Debt Collection in Doubt

As Enforcement Watch reported in late September, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it had filed a proposed consent judgment in the United States District Court for Delaware to resolve claims relating to the servicing and debt collection activities on a portfolio of about 800,000 student loans.  Under the proposed settlement agreement, the student loan trusts…

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Court Awards Nearly $280 Million in Treble Damages Against Former FHA Lender

On September 14, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued an opinion and order against two former mortgage companies and their former president and CEO.  The order, which followed a previous jury verdict against the company, awarded the Government nearly $280 million in treble damages under the False Claims Act (FCA), approximately $13 million…

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CFPB Enters Consent Order with Seattle-Based Payday Lender

On December 16, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order relating to a Seattle-based payday lender and check-cashing company’s allegedly deceptive online advertisements and collection letters.  The consent order alleges that the company violated sections 1031(a) and 1036(a)(1)(B) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531(a), 5536(a)(1)(B),…

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Jury Issues $92 Million Verdict Under the False Claims Act Against Mortgage Companies and CEO

On November 30, 2016, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas announced that a federal jury in the Southern District of Texas issued a verdict finding several related mortgage companies and their CEO liable in connection with their participation in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program.  The verdicts were the result of…

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Q3 2016 Sees Significant Decrease in State Enforcement Actions; Federal Agencies Hold Steady (Interactive Charts Inside)

In the third quarter of 2016, Consumer Enforcement Watch tracked 37 enforcement actions taken against consumer financial service providers.  This represents a decrease from the 46 enforcement actions that were tracked last quarter and the 50 actions that we tracked in Q1.  25 of the Q3 enforcement actions were settlements…

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Vermont AG Settles Lawsuit with California Student Loan Debt Consolidation Company

On November 18, 2016, the Attorney General for the State of Vermont (Vermont AG) announced that it had entered into a settlement with a California student loan debt consolidation company related to the company’s business of helping consumers consolidate their loans to reduce their student loan debt.  As part of the settlement, the…

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Four California Residents Jailed and to Pay $7 Million in Restitution for Debt Relief Scheme

On November 14, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced that four California individual defendants were sentenced for their participation in an allegedly fraudulent debt relief scheme.  The defendants all worked for two companies in Orange County, California that offered to settle credit card debts.  According to the DOJ,…

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HUD OIG Announces PFCRA Settlement with FHA Lender

On September 29, 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG) announced a settlement with a mortgage lender relating to two audits of the lender’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured loans. The audits allegedly determined that the lender underwrote FHA-insured loans with…

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