Question:
Dear Steve,
My sister, who lives in Florida, is having financial troubles and I just started researching her situation.
– She started “debt consolidation” with Morgan Drexen a couple of years ago.
– They had an affiliation with William Gwaltney, a FL law firm.
– At some point, she was switched to Williamson & Howard.
– Now she tells me that she was switched to Seila Law.
– Meanwhile someone is still making automatic withdrawals from her checking (at this point, she has not told me who).
– She had called Seila at my request to access the current account status.
– Seila says they have to gather everything, review and send it out … in two of three weeks (?!?!?).
Can you offer any advice to a confused brother who wants to help his sister?
She is paying money she can’t afford to get help with her debts. Any information or advice is greatly appreciated!
Paul
Answer:
Dear Paul,
The Morgan Drexen mess has been an ongoing tragedy. All of the parties you mentioned have been dragged into the active court case filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in 2013.
The issue seems to be divided up into parts. As far as the first bit, Morgan Drexen, the CFPB won a final judgment against the company in 2016. Here is what the CFPB said about that win.
Clients from Morgan Drexen were then shifted to Howard Law and/or Williamson & Howard. An asset freeze was put in place against those firms and/or attorneys and those attorneys were ordered to pay millions. To get up to speed on this situation, click here.
Currently the ongoing case is stalled in legal wrangling, mediation, or appeals. Courts are not always neat or logical.
Then clients were shifted to Selia Law.
Ultimately the best way to get you up to speed would be for you to review the court docket report. Click here.
You say your sister is paying money she can’t afford towards her ongoing debt situation. If you wanted to get into the weeds then you might want to help her figure out how much of what she has already paid has gone to fees, is currently available for refund, and if she feels the program has provided value for money. Only she can come to that decision.
Alternatively, I would suggest you and your sister go meet with a local bankruptcy attorney who is licensed in your state and get a second opinion about available legal remedies for her ongoing debts and what can be clawed back if she did file bankruptcy.
From my point of view there are two major issues here. The first is looking back to all that has transpired since she enrolled with Morgan Drexen. The second is what is she going to do to deal with her ongoing debt looking forward.
Please update me in the comments below with what path you decide to follow.

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