On February 5, 2015, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) announced a settlement with a national bank over allegations that the bank improperly secured its retail credit card with an interest in the borrower’s home, and that certain mortgage loan files contained falsified or altered income documents. Under the…
On February 5, 2015, the California Department of Business Oversight announced that it reached a settlement with a payday lending company over allegations that the company used deceptive sales pitches to market payday loans in violation of the California Lenders Law. The company purportedly structured loans in a way that…
On February 5, 2015, the Colorado Attorney General announced that the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed a temporary injunction order that bars a debt settlement company from continuing operations in the State of Colorado. The State’s motion successfully barred the company from engaging in the unauthorized practice of law in connection…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that it had reached an agreement to give students of Corinthian College, Inc. at least $480 million in principal reductions on existing student debt. Former and current students will receive an immediate 40% reduction on existing principal balances of their loans with…
On February 4, 2015, the CFPB announced that it had entered a consent order with a Delaware-based subprime credit card company and servicer concerning allegations that the company made false statements and charged illegal fees for credit cards in violation of the Truth in Lending Act. The company purportedly charged…
On February 3, 2015, the CFPB announced that it had entered a stipulation for an order and final judgment with a Texas-based company that had falsely intimated that its membership card was a credit card. The card was advertised and offered to union workers and charged a membership fee. Purchasers…
On February 2, 2015, the CFPB announced that it had reached a settlement with the ECMC Group and the Zenith Education Group (collectively “ECMC”), two companies that had purchased colleges formerly affiliated with Corinthian Colleges, Inc. ECMC agreed to coordinate $480 million in debt relief for current and former Corinthian…
On January 30, 2015, the FTC announced a settlement with two car title lenders for deceptive advertising in connection with offering consumers 0% car loans. The Commission asserted the lenders deceptively advertised 0% interest rates without disclosing material loan conditions necessary for borrowers to qualify for the interest rate, and…
On January 30, 2015, the Arkansas Attorney General announced that Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza granted its petition to enforce a civil investigative demand against a Texas credit repair company, related to its investigation into whether the company’s representations, advertising, and pricing structures violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices…
On January 29, 2015, a state bank entered into a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), agreeing to pay a civil monetary penalty of $5,400 related to allegations that the bank had violated section 102(f)(1) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, 42 U.S.C. § 4012a(f)(1),…
On January 23, 2015, the California Department of Business Oversight (“CBO”) announced that it reached a settlement with a national mortgage lender over allegations that the lender failed to comply with state recordkeeping requirements to assess compliance with state mortgage lending laws. The CBO claims that the mortgage lender repeatedly…
On January 22, 2015, the CFPB and the Maryland Attorney General announced a settlement with two national banks related to an investigation into allegations that the loan officers at the banks steered customers to a title company in exchange for allegedly illegal kickbacks. The Complaint alleged that the banks and…
On January 15, 2015, New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, proposed a new law that NY hopes will balance business and consumer interests while establishing New York as a leader in data security. The main effect of the proposed legislation would be to expand the definition of private information to…
On January 21, 2015, the FTC announced that it had filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Commercial Recover Systems, Inc. (CRS), a debt collector, for illegally threatening consumers with false claims and threatening consumers that they would be faced with legal…
On January 19, 2015, the New York Attorney General announced a settlement with a regional bank for possible discriminatory lending practices. The settlement was reached after the Attorney General investigated the bank for categorically excluding borrowers who lived in certain minority neighborhoods from obtaining loans, designating loans from minority areas…
Attempts by county governments to obtain real property transfer taxes from the Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) were stifled again recently, this time by a January 16, 2015, ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which affirmed dismissal of six cases brought by counties against Fannie Mae,…
On January 16, 2015, the FTC announced that it reached a settlement with two online payday lenders for allegedly misrepresenting the cost of loans to consumers in violation of Section V of the FTC Act. The companies were among a group of payday lenders that were sued by the FTC…
On January 15, 2015, the DOJ announced that it had entered a consent order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to resolve claims against a state-chartered bank based in Texas for allegedly discriminatory loan practices. The matter was referred to the DOJ by the FDIC,…
**UPDATE: On January 20, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court DENIED the Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the Iskanian matter, leaving the CA Supreme Court’s controversial decision in place.** U.S. Supreme Court precedent protecting the enforceability of arbitration agreements under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq….
On December 31, 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development entered into a settlement agreement with New York-based Golden First Mortgage Corporation and its president and owner, David Movtady, concerning allegations that Golden First and Movtady violated the False Claims Act by approving FHA mortgage loans that failed…