FTC adds charges against small-business financer

Federal Issues Courts FTC Enforcement Small Business Financing Merchant Cash Advance FTC Act UDAP Deceptive Unfair Gramm-Leach-Bliley

On June 14, the FTC announced additional charges against two New York-based small-business financing companies and a related entity and individuals (collectively, “defendants”). Last June, the FTC filed a complaint against the defendants for allegedly violating the FTC Act and engaging in deceptive and unfair practices by, among other things, misrepresenting the terms of their merchant cash advances, using unfair collection practices, and making unauthorized withdrawals from consumers’ accounts (covered by InfoBytes here). The amended complaint alleges that the defendants also violated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s prohibition on using false statements to obtain consumers’ financial information, including bank account numbers, log-in credentials, and the identity of authorized signers, in order “to withdraw more than the specified amount from consumers’ bank accounts.” Additionally, the FTC’s press release states that the defendants “engaged in wanton and egregious behavior, including laughing at consumer requests for refunds from [the defendants’] unauthorized withdrawals from customer bank accounts; abusing the legal system to seize the business and personal assets of their customers; and threatening to break their customers’ jaws or falsely accusing them of child molestation during collection calls.” The amended complaint seeks a permanent injunction against the defendants, along with civil money penalties and monetary relief including “rescission or reformation of contracts, the refund of monies paid, and other equitable relief.”