On May 26, 2022, the North Carolina Attorney General (NC AG) announced that it obtained a default judgment against a California-based debt settlement business, and its proprietor. The lawsuit, filed on June 25, 2021 in the North Carolina Superior Court for Wake County, alleged that the entity violated North Carolina’s Debt Adjusting Act, N.C. Gen. Stat….
On May 23, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the New York Attorney General (NY AG) announced that they have settled a case filed against six New York debt collection companies and affiliated individuals, resolving a one-and-a-half year enforcement action. The original complaint was filed on September 20, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Western…
On May 16, 2022, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (Arizona AG) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with the owner of several debt collection companies regarding alleged deceptive debt collection practices in violation of state law. The agreement resolves a lawsuit by the Arizona AG filed in September 2020, alleging that the companies collected or attempted to collect payments…
On January 26, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it resolved claims against the remaining defendants in an action concerning student loan debt relief products and services that commenced in 2019. As we previously reported, the FTC filed a complaint against a collection of interrelated companies in November 2019, alleging that they used fraudulent…
On January 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint against three New York-based debt collection companies and their owners. The CFPB alleged the companies sold debts to collection companies that used unlawful collection tactics. Specifically, the CFPB alleged the companies knew or should have known that the…
On December 13, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it reached a settlement with a group of South Carolina-based debt collection companies to resolve allegations that the companies violated the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FTC’s complaint, originally filed in July…
On November 23, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James (“New York AG”) announced that her office entered into an agreement with a debt collection company to resolve allegations that the company violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, 15 USC § 1692 et seq. (“FDCPA”), the Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5552…
On November 8, 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it entered into a stipulated order with a payment processor, resolving allegations that the payment processor violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by facilitating payments related to an unlawful student…
On September 27, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with an Atlanta-based debt collection company and its owners that would ban them from the debt collection industry. The FTC had originally filed suit in 2020, after which the court issued an ex parte temporary restraining order prohibiting the company from doing business. The complaint, filed in September 2020, alleged violations of Section 5(a)…
On September 23, 2021, the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that it had filed a complaint against a New York-based debt collection agency for violations of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WVCCPA) . The complaint alleges that the debt collection agency violated West Virginia law by operating without proper authorization and by using illegal, high-pressure…