On September 21, 2018, the Attorney General for the State of Washington announced a lawsuit against three debt collection agencies and their owner, alleging that they violated the state’s Collection Agency Act, RCW 19.16.100 et seq., and the state’s Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86.010 et seq. The complaint, filed in…
On September 21, New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced a stipulated court order against three entities and individuals for illegal debt collection practices (collectively, “defendants”), which permanently bans the defendants from the debt collection industry and requires collective payment of almost $27 million in restitution and damages. The court…
On September 20, New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced a lawsuit against nine student loan debt relief companies, their financing company, and two individuals with leadership roles in several of the companies (collectively, “defendants”). The lawsuit alleges that defendants violated the Federal Credit Repair Organization Act, 15 U.S.C. §…
On July 26, 2018, the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced a lawsuit against five Pennsylvania mortgage foreclosure companies and two company owners for cheating consumers into signing contracts to have their mortgage loans modified—but never delivering the services paid for—in violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer…
On June 14, 2018, the California Attorney General announced that it had entered into a settlement with a company holding nearly 35,000 private student loans across California. In the complaint, which was filed on June 13, 2018, the Attorney General alleged that the company had engaged in unlawful debt collection…
On March 7, 2018, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office (“Virginia AG”) filed a complaint against two related loan companies and their owner (the “Defendants”) in Virginia state court. According to the complaint, the Defendants engage in the practice of purchasing portions of Virginia citizens’ pension payments in exchange for a…
On May 4, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (“VA Attorney General”) announced that its Predatory Lending Unit had filed suit in Virginia state court against a Chicago-based online lender, alleging violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, Virginia Code §§ 59.1-196 to 59.1-207 (“VCPA”). The complaint alleges that the lender, one of the largest online…
On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, Anthony Alexis, head of Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice and former Assistant Director and Head of the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Kyle Tayman, partner in Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Practice, kicked off Goodwin’s State of Enforcement Series with the webinar “What’s Happening Inside the CFPB and…
On April 19, 2018, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office (“Illinois AG”) announced that it had filed a complaint against a Nevada-based company that claimed to “purchase” portions of consumers’ pension plans. According to the complaint, these transactions constituted predatory installment loans with excessive interests rates in violation of Illinois law. The complaint alleges that the…
On April 4, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (“Georgia AG”) announced an $8.5 million settlement with a national debt collector, resolving allegations that the company violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act. The Georgia AG had alleged that the company harassed and deceived consumers…