On February 5, 2021, a digital-payment company disclosed in a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that they received a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on January 21, 2021. The CID requests documents and answers to written questions concerning allegedly unauthorized funds transfers and collections processes relating to one of the company’s products. …
On February 8, 2021, the Delaware Attorney General (Delaware AG) announced that it filed an administrative lawsuit against a California-based debt-management services company for allegedly violating the Delaware Uniform Debt-Management Services Act, the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act, and the Delaware Deceptive Trade Practices Act. According to the Delaware AG, the debt-management company used misleading advertising to target elderly and…
On February 8, state Attorneys General for North Carolina, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania (State AGs) announced a $4.2 million settlement with a national bank to resolve allegations that it overcharged credit card interest for certain customers. According to the settlement agreement, the State AGs conducted a joint investigation into whether, between 2011…
On February 3, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced its first formal enforcement action against an Irvine-based student debt relief company. The DFPI’s action alleges that the company’s student debt relief practices violated the California Consumer Financial Protection Law and Student Loan Servicing Act. According to the DFPI, for over three…
On February 4, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) launched an investigation into whether four California-based student-loan debt-relief companies violated the new California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) and Student Loan Servicing Act (SLSA). The CCFPL took effect on January 1, 2021 and expanded the DFPI’s regulatory…
On January 29, 2021, the FTC announced that it filed a proposed settlement in the District of Nevada with two Nevada-based consulting companies, resolving claims that the companies violated the FTC Act, Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, Credit Repair Organizations Act, and Consumer Review Fairness Act. The FTC alleged that, since…
On January 28, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) announced that it entered into five Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with five different earned wage access companies. Earned wage access companies provide consumers with advances or “on-demand pay” before their pay day for wages that they have earned but not yet received. According to…
On January 19, 2020, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) launched an investigation into a dozen debt collectors potentially engaging in unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) under California law. This represents the first major public action taken under the expanded oversight and enforcement authority of the California…
On January 26, 2021, a California federal judge granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) motion for default judgment against a now-defunct financial aid services company. The court also granted in part the CFPB’s motion for summary judgment against the company’s founder. The ruling resolves a complaint filed by the CFPB in 2015, previously covered by…
Enforcement Watch and Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement Team are excited to announce the arrival of Alli Schoenthal to our team! Alli will reside in our New York office. Alli represents banks, trusts, lenders, government-sponsored enterprises, private equity firms, and loan servicers in consumer finance litigation and enforcement matters. Her practice…