On September 20, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), resolving allegations that the state agency unlawfully obtained default judgments against two military servicemembers for student loan debt in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a…
On October 22, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a settlement with a San Diego-based national mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the company had originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) without following program…
On September 25, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against a national mortgage loan originator. The complaint alleges that the company violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by originating Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loans…
On July 2, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with a Maryland used car dealership. The consent order resolves a lawsuit filed by the DOJ in September 2019, which alleged that the dealership discriminated against African American consumers by offering different loan terms based on race,…
On April 29, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it settled allegations that an Illinois-based mortgage lender violated the False Claims Act (FCA), the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), and Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act (PFCRA) by falsely certifying that it complied with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance…
On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had entered into a $2.47 million settlement agreement with a national reverse mortgage lender in order to resolve allegations that the bank’s predecessor entity had failed to meet the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) criteria in originating and…
On September 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against a Maryland used cars dealership, and its owner and manager, for allegedly violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The complaint’s allegations are…
On June 13, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it filed a complaint and settlement agreement in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana resolving allegations against a Midwestern bank based in Indiana. The DOJ alleged that the bank engaged in lending discrimination through “redlining,” or intentionally avoiding providing services in predominantly…
On December 21, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with a mortgage servicer 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)…
On December 12, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $14.5 million settlement of a whistleblower suit alleging False Claims Act violations against a lender who endorsed loans for insurance by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”). The settlement resolves an investigation triggered by a qui tam lawsuit filed by a former employee of the…