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North Carolina AG Announces Settlement with Student Loan Debt Relief Company
On March 27, the North Carolina Department of Justice announced it had settled a lawsuit against a student loan debt relief company for allegedly charging upfront fees while failing to perform promised debt relief services. NC Attorney General Josh Stein stated that the terms of the consent order will provide restitution of more than $375,000 to 377 affected borrowers and will further prohibit the company from engaging in similar conduct in the future. The consent order is not presently available to the public.
New York AG Announces Settlements with Three Mobile Health Application Developers over Misleading Marketing Practices and Privacy Policies
On March 23, the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office announced settlements with U.S.-, Austria-, and Israel-based mobile application (app) developers who allegedly participated in misleading marketing practices and the mismanagement of consumer information—both of which are violations of New York Executive, Education, and General Business Laws. Two of the three developers claimed their health-related apps accurately measured heart rates, and a third allegedly claimed its app would measure a fetal heartbeat. However, all three failed to test the apps for accuracy, conduct comparisons to other approved products, or obtain approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The developers have agreed to provide additional testing information, will correct misleading advertisements, obtain affirmative consent from consumers for developers’ privacy policies, and will pay $30,000 in combined penalties to the NYAG’s office. Furthermore, all three developers have also made changes to their privacy policies and disclose the collecting and sharing of information that “may be personally identifying” including “users’ GPS location, unique device identifier, and ‘deidentified’ data that third parties may be able to use to reidentify specific users.”
NY AG Schneiderman Releases List of “Top Ten” Frauds for 2016
On March 6, 2017, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released the state’s 2016 top ten list of consumer fraud complaints. For the past 11 years, Internet-related complaints concerning service providers, data privacy and security, and consumer fraud topped the list, closely followed by complaints about automobile sales, service, financing, and repairs. Credit complaints about debt collection, billing, debt settlement, payday loads, credit repair and reporting agencies, and identity theft were sixth. Complaints related to mortgages were ninth. Not on the top ten list but highlighted by the Attorney General’s office were complaints involving scam student debt relief companies as well as two common schemes known as the IRS scam and the Grandparent scam. Also provided were tips consumers should use to protect themselves and their families.
28 State AGs File Amicus Brief with Supreme Court in Debt Collection Case
On February 24, the New Mexico Attorney General, along with 27 other states and the District of Columbia, announced that his office had joined in an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court supporting the plaintiff in Henson v. Santander. As previously covered in Infobytes, the defendant argued below—and the Fourth Circuit agreed—that the FDCPA did not apply to a consumer finance company that purchased and then sought to collect a debt in default on its own behalf because it was not a debt collector as defined in the statute. In their amicus brief, the attorneys general oppose the Fourth Circuit holding and argue that any “company that regularly attempts to collect defaulted debt that it has purchased is a ‘debt collector’ as the FDCPA defines [the] term,” and therefore, the obligations and restrictions of the FDCPA should apply. The Supreme Court set oral arguments for April 18 of this year.
Colorado Issues Advisory on Entities Required to File UCCC Sales Finance Notifications
On December 28 of last year, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, through the Administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC), issued an advisory for entities filing sales finance notifications. The advisory strongly recommends that purchasers and assignees of consumer credit transactions subject to the UCCC develop and implement a due diligence process to confirm that the retail credit sellers originating those contracts have filed the proper notice under UCCC Section 5-6-203(4). As explained in the advisory, if notice is not properly filed, consumers “may not have an obligation to pay the finance charge due on those consumer credit transactions.” The list of retail credit sellers who currently file notifications with the department can be accessed here.
FTC and 10 States Settle Charges with Remaining Defendants in Illegal Telemarketing Campaign
On February 21, the FTC announced that, along with 10 state attorneys general, it has entered a Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction and Civil Penalty Judgment against defendants who were allegedly part of an illegal robocall campaign that ran from October 2011 through July 2012. According to the joint complaint filed by the FTC and the states in 2015, the campaign averaged approximately 12 to 15 million illegal sales calls a day asking consumers to complete a political research survey and then connecting them to a live telemarketer who sold cruise packages. The FTC’s 2015 press release noted that while “do-not-call and robocall rules do not prohibit political survey robocalls, the defendants’ robocalls violated federal law because they incorporated a sales pitch.” The 2017 settlement order imposed a $1.35 million fine, to be suspended after they pay $2,500 based on ability to pay, and bars the defendants from: (i) “initiating, or causing anyone else to initiate, any robocalls or helping anyone else make robocalls”; and (ii) “engaging in illegal telemarketing practices.” Certain other defendants reached settlements in 2015, which, in addition to imposing various civil money penalties, prohibited them also from engaging in abusive telemarketing practices.
Georgia Attorney General Orders Payday Lenders to Pay $40 Million in Civil Monetary Penalty and Restitution to Consumers
On February 8, the Office of the Georgia Attorney General announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement with two payday lenders over claims that the companies violated the state’s Payday Lending Act, which prohibits unlicensed loans of $3,000 or less. While the interest rate for loans made under the Payday Lending Act is capped at 10 percent, the unlicensed lenders in this case allegedly issued over 18,000 loans with interest rates ranging from 140 percent to 340 percent and collected over $32 million in associated interest and fees since 2010. According to the terms of the settlement, the companies are required to (i) pay $23.5 million in consumer restitution; (ii) cease all collections and forgive all outstanding loans; (iii) pay a $1 million civil penalty to the state; and (iv) pay $500,000 as reimbursement for the state’s attorneys’ fees and costs.
Decades-Old Fraud Case Settled After Over 12 Years
On February 10, the New York Attorney General’s office announced it had reached a settlement in a securities fraud suit filed in 2005 by then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The lawsuit was filed after the company admitted to engaging in improper reinsurance transactions that materially misrepresented loss reserves and misstated underwriting results. The original settlement in 2006 resulted in the company paying $1.6 billion to settle the matter; however, the two individuals involved refused responsibility for the transactions. Now, over 12 years later, and after the two defendants’ arguments were “substantially rejected by the New York Supreme Court, the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department and the New York Court of Appeals,” the defendants have acknowledged their role in the transactions and agreed to collectively relinquish over $9.9 million they had received as performance bonuses from 2001 through 2004.
New York Attorney General Announces Settlements Over Data Collection Practices
On February 9, the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG’s) office announced two settlements with mobile app developers who allegedly omitted information about their data collection practices in their privacy policies. While the investigation revealed that neither developer misused their customers’ personal information or improperly disclosed such information to third parties, the NYAG’s office determined that both companies failed to properly disclose the fact that they had collected the information as required by law. Both companies have agreed to add privacy policies to their apps.
CFPB and New York Attorney General File Lawsuit Against Company that Lured 9/11 Heroes Out of Millions of Dollars
On February 7, the CFPB announced that it has—in partnership with the New York Attorney General (NYAG)—filed a complaint in federal district court against a finance company and two affiliates that offer lump-sum advances to consumers entitled to periodic payouts from victim compensation funds or lawsuit settlements. A press release from the NYAG’s Office can be accessed here.
The Bureau and the NYAG claim, among other things, that the defendants misled World Trade Center attack first responders and professional football players in selling expensive advances on benefits to which they were entitled and mischaracterized extensions of credit as assignments of future payment rights, thereby misleading their victims into repaying far more than they received. Specifically, according to the allegations in the complaint, the New Jersey-based companies: (i) used “confusing contracts” to prevent the individuals from understanding the terms and costs of the transactions; (ii) lied to the individuals by telling them the companies could secure their payouts more quickly; (iii) misrepresented how quickly they would receive payments from the companies, and (iv) collected interest at an illegal rate.
These actions, the two regulators argue, constitute violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act ban on unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices, New York usury laws, and other state consumer financial protection laws. The lawsuit seeks to end the company’s illegal practices, obtain relief for the victims, and impose penalties.