On December 4, 2018, one of the nation’s largest debt buyers and its subsidiaries reached a settlement with 42 states and the District of Columbia (see, e.g., announcements here and here). The settlement closes the states’ multi-year investigation into the company’s collection and litigation practices, including alleged violations of the…
On November 20, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that a federal court issued an injunction to halt and freeze the assets of a California-based student loan debt relief scheme. Two weeks prior, the FTC filed a complaint against the operators of the scheme, alleging deceptive acts and practices in violation of Section 5(a)…
On November 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a settlement with a Texas-based financial services company, resolving allegations that the company violated sections 1031 and 1036 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536. Specifically, the CFPB alleged that the company engaged in deceptive…
On November 15, 2018, the Virginia Attorney General’s office (“Virginia AG”) announced that it had secured more than $50 million in debt relief and civil penalties as a result of its lawsuit brought under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act against two affiliated loan companies and their owner (the “Defendants”) in…
On November 2, 2018, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a settlement with a New York based credit union, resolving allegations that the credit union had illegally repossessed cars owned by servicemembers on active duty in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3952 (“SCRA”). Under…
On November 1, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the New York Attorney General’s Office announced their lawsuit against a New York-based debt collection operation, which alleges that the debt collection entities tricked people into agreeing to pay more money than what they allegedly owed in violation of Section 13(b) of the…
On Monday, October 29, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with an online student loan refinancer relating to charges that the company deceptively advertised inflated figures for more than two years, in violation of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45. According to the complaint,…
During the first half of 2018, Enforcement Watch tracked 40 publicly announced or publicly filed enforcement actions involving consumer financial services companies. The 18 enforcement actions tracked during Q1 2018 represent a substantial decrease from the 46 actions tracked in Q1 2017. That trend continued in Q2 2018, with Enforcement Watch…
On October 24, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it had entered into a Consent Order with a Tennessee-based small dollar lender, resolving allegations that the lender had committed deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536(a)(1)(B). The Consent Order…
On October 19, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it settled allegations that a Florida-based mortgage lender violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by falsely certifying that it complied with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance requirements for certain loans originated between 2006 and 2011 for $13.2 million. In the lawsuit, which…