On May 14, 2024, the Minnesota Attorney General announced that it had filed a lawsuit against a realtor and several companies that he owns, claiming that the Defendants used deceptive trade practices to market illegal contracts for deed, in violation of several state and federal laws, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Minn….
On April 17, 2024, the New York State Attorney General (NY AG) announced that it entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD) with a national bank, resolving allegations related to the bank’s debt collection practices. The bank is a nationally chartered bank that issues debit cards, prepaid cards, payroll cards, and gift cards, primarily through third-party servicers, many of whom…
On March 20, 2024, the Office of Washington Attorney General (WA AG) Bob Ferguson announced that it obtained a judgment against a debt collection agency in the State of Washington King County Superior Court. This judgment represents the final resolution of a charity care lawsuit filed by the WA AG in February…
On March 8, 2024, the Minnesota Attorney General announced that it had filed a lawsuit against four solar companies for allegedly violating Minnesota Prevention of the Consumer Fraud Act (“MCFA”), the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the False Statement in Advertising Act (“FSAA”), and Chapter 56 of the Minnesota Regulated Loan Act. The…
On November 8, 2023, the Minnesota Attorney General (Minnesota AG) announced that the state had reached a settlement with a California-based student-loan debt-relief provider over miscellaneous state law allegations. Specifically, the Minnesota AG alleged that the company did not register as a debt settlement services provider with the Minnesota Department of Commerce as required by Minn. Stat. § 332B.03. The…
On October 17, 2023, the Washington State Attorney General (AG) announced that over the course of 2023, they had recovered approximately $360,000 in restitution from three out-of-state debt adjusters for alleged predatory student debt adjustments in violation of the Debt Adjustment Act. The Debt Adjustment Act limits the amount of fees a debt adjuster…
On October 17, 2023, the California Attorney General announced that 48 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico had reached a $10 million settlement with a payment processing company related to allegations of attempted unauthorized withdrawals related to a testing error on the part of the processing company. According to the press release,…
On January 4, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and New York State Office of the Attorney General (NY AG) announced a joint enforcement action against one of the country’s largest publicly-traded indirect auto lenders. The 8-count complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York,…
On December 22, 2022, the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) announced a settlement with a South Carolina mortgage servicing company to resolve allegations that the company violated state mortgage servicing and debt collection laws. After an investigation, the AG alleged that the servicer did not take “reasonable steps” to help borrowers avoid foreclosures…
On December 14, 2022, the Colorado Attorney General (AG) announced that it entered into a consent order with a California-based debt management company and its sister lending company, resolving the AG’s examination findings that those companies violated Colorado’s Uniform Consumer Credit Code, C.R.S. § 5-1-101, et seq. (“UCCC”) and Debt Management Services Act, C.R.S. § 5-19-201…
On November 2, 2022, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that a group of companies offering lead generation services violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”), 16 C.F.R. Part 310, and Pennsylvania consumer protection law, 73 P.S. §§ 201-3 and 201-4, by engaging in…
On November 18, 2022, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office (Minnesota AG) announced that it entered into a consent order with a California student-loan debt-relief company to resolve allegations that the company illegally collected fees from customers and mispresented its services to consumers. According to the Minnesota AG, the company “falsely promised consumers student-loan…
On October 11, 2022, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office (NC AG) announced that it had entered into a consent order with certain Texas-based debt collection companies, resolving allegations that those companies engaged in illegal debt collection practices in violation of various state statutes. In 2019, the NC AG filed a lawsuit in North Carolina state court alleging that…
On August 16, 2022, the Pennsylvania Attorney General announced that a group of attorneys general for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the States of New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and the District of Columbia (collectively, “the AGs”) had filed a multistate lawsuit against a personal lending company for allegedly charging consumers for “hidden add-on products” in violation of various…
On June 29, 2022, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced that it had resolved allegations that a motor vehicle title lender made illegal loans to customers and repossessed cars to collect payments, with a settlement agreement that requires the lender to pay over $900,000 in redress to consumers. The Attorney General alleged that the motor…
On May 26, 2022, the North Carolina Attorney General (NC AG) announced that it obtained a default judgment against a California-based debt settlement business, and its proprietor. The lawsuit, filed on June 25, 2021 in the North Carolina Superior Court for Wake County, alleged that the entity violated North Carolina’s Debt Adjusting Act, N.C. Gen. Stat….
On May 19, 2022, the Arizona Attorney General, along with the attorneys general of 34 other states, announced a settlement with a large subprime auto lender. If approved, the settlement would resolve a multistate investigation in which the attorneys general alleged that the lender issued high-interest loans knowing consumers were likely to default based…
On May 16, 2022, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (Arizona AG) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with the owner of several debt collection companies regarding alleged deceptive debt collection practices in violation of state law. The agreement resolves a lawsuit by the Arizona AG filed in September 2020, alleging that the companies collected or attempted to collect payments…
On April 21, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a joint enforcement action with the New York Attorney General (NY AG) against one of the largest international remittance providers in the United States. The seven-count complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges the Dallas-based company’s remittance…
On March 9, 2022 the Arizona Attorney General (AG) filed a proposed consent judgment with a California-based lender and its corporate affiliates in Arizona state court. The operative complaint, filed May 7, 2020, alleged that the defendants violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, A.R.S. § 44-1521, et seq., and state usury laws, by making…