While it is early in the Biden administration, regulators are signaling that there will be a heightened focus on enforcement of consumer protection regulations. What should financial services companies expect in the year ahead in terms of government regulation and enforcement activity? Goodwin partners Tony Alexis (former CFPB), Bill Harrington…
On February 11, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $114 million settlement with the owners and operators of an alleged tribal payday lending scheme. The settlement resolves allegations concerning defendants’ purported violations of the unfair or deceptive practice provisions (UDAP) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud…
On July 26, 2018, the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced a lawsuit against five Pennsylvania mortgage foreclosure companies and two company owners for cheating consumers into signing contracts to have their mortgage loans modified—but never delivering the services paid for—in violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer…
On February 3, 2021, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it has commenced its first formal enforcement action and launched a separate investigation into student loan debt relief companies. Goodwin previously provided an overview of three new California consumer finance laws that became effective in January 2021,…
To help our clients stay on the cutting edge in this developing legal landscape, we are pleased to present our 2020 Year in Review: Consumer Finance. Here, we use our detailed industry and regulatory knowledge to offer predictions on what the industry might expect in 2021 in the mortgage, fintech,…
On February 10, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will begin distributing over $1.7 million to consumers that it claims lost money as a result of an alleged student loan debt relief scheme. The payments are part of a 2018 settlement with a student debt relief group, previously covered by Enforcement Watch, that resolved…
On February 10, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced settlements with two payment processing companies and two individuals, resolving claims concerning an alleged credit card laundering scheme perpetrated in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), 15 U.S.C. § 53(b), and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Act (Telemarketing Act), 15 U.S.C. §§…
On February 10, 2021, the Massachusetts Attorney General (Massachusetts AG) announced that it reached a settlement with a national federal student loan servicer, resolving allegations that the entity engaged in deceptive acts or practices in violation of state law related to its student loan servicing practices. In particular, the Massachusetts AG alleged…
On February 10, 2021, the New York Department of Financial Service (DFS) entered into a settlement with a New York-based mortgage company to resolve allegations that the company utilized an unauthorized domain name and website, and failed to provide mortgage loan applicants with pre-application disclosures in violation of Article 12-D of the New York Banking Law…
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…
In January 2021, the new California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) entered into memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with five earned wage access fintech companies so that these companies can continue to operate in California while providing consumers with protection against abusive practices. The DFPI, often referred to as…
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 Monday, January 18, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he will nominate Rohit Chopra, one of two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as the next Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, or the Bureau). This announcement came just days before Kathleen Kraninger, the current…
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…