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 August 10, 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (“Board of Governors”) announced that a national bank had consented to the assessment of a civil money penalty totaling $8.6 million pursuant to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended, 12 U.S.C. §§ 1818(b)(3) and 1818(i)(2)(B), for engaging in…
On July 19, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a lender and its subsidiaries, resolving allegations that the company violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The lender and its subsidiaries are financial services companies…
On June 28, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced entered into a consent order with a national bank, resolving allegations that the bank violated the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) by failing to reevaluate and reduce the annual percentage rates on consumer credit card accounts. The Credit Card Accountability…
On June 13, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its settlement with a South Carolina corporation and its subsidiaries over allegations that the companies engaged in improper debt collection and credit furnishing practices. According to the consent order, the CFPB found that the companies made improper in-person and…
On June 11, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had settled claims against an individual and his loan debt relief companies in connection with its coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative to target deceptive student loan debt relief scams, called “Operation Game of Loans.” Enforcement Watch covered a similar enforcement action earlier…
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 June 7, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an order dismissing administrative proceedings against PHH Corp. The dismissal follows a January 31, 2018 opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) reinstating the court’s prior interpretation of Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). According to the…
On May 31, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it settled claims against a student loan debt relief company as part of a coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative to target deceptive student loan debt relief scam called “Game of Loans.” The FTC settled allegations that a student loan debt relief company violated…