Article and information specifically geared to readers inside the debt relief industry.
Two Florida companies and their CEO will be permanently barred from offering payment-processing services to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that they aided a criminal student debt relief scam that bilked $62 million from thousands of students and their families. According to the FTC’s complaint, Moneta Management, LLC, Moneta Management, Inc., and their CEO Michael … Read more
Let me start by saying my impression and opinion of the Julie Queler mess is based on public records. These are court documents and ultimately the case will have to play out in court. According to a July 7, 2021 court filing, Julie Queler, a Defendant in a suit with GM Law Firm, National Legal … Read more
California is getting ready to pass AB-1405 titled “Fair Debt Settlement Practices Act.” Ironically, a number of settlement companies are located in California, Irvine in particular. Unless something magical happens the bill will pass. As it stands today, the bill has some serious consequences for settlement companies. This can be of no surprise to an … Read more
The State of Connecticut has flexed its muscle against New Jersey attorney Filipe Pedroso and Pedroso Legal Services for providing loan modification assistance. The State says Pedroso is a licensed attorney in New Jersey but not in Connecticut. According to official documents, Pedrosa states he only assisted one Connecticut resident in 2014 but now faces … Read more
An interesting development in the case filed against GM Law Firm, Chantel Grant, National Legal Staffing Support, Resolvly, Gregory Fishman, Julie Queler, Kevin Mason, JG Factor, Benjamin Zuckerman, and Berger Singerman. It turns out Julie Queler is the majority shareholder of National Legal Staffing Support and Resolvly but is not getting answers from her co-defendants … Read more
The FTC has obtained federal court orders banning the companies and people listed below from participating in all or specific types of debt relief businesses. Generally speaking, debt relief is any program or service that offers to change the terms of a debt between a person and one or more creditors or debt collectors, including … Read more
I was sent the following press release to publish for TurboFinance. I don’t know who TurboFinance is but the information in this press release makes no sense. A look at the TurboFinance website uncovers it is a lead generator. The site says, “TurboFinance is an independent, advertiser-supported website and may receive compensation for some links … Read more
The operators of a student loan debt relief scheme are banned from providing debt relief services and have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they collected illegal upfront fees and falsely promised to lower or even eliminate consumers’ loan payments or balances. In its 2019 complaint, the FTC alleged that Student Advocates Team … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) requested today that a federal district court enter a final judgment and order that, if entered by the court, would require DMB Financial, LLC to pay consumers at least $5.4 million for charging unlawful fees and failing to provide required disclosures to its customers, and a civil penalty. The … Read more
Debt relief companies like debt settlement and credit counselors are always on the hunt for consumers with credit card debt. They make debt relief companies the most money from selling services to people with unsecured debt. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York just released data showing that while total household debt increased in the … Read more
Amanda Finley tried her best to keep her real estate commission from selling her husband, Jeremy Marcus, a Florida home, but there is a catch. Jeremy Marcus was the person behind 321 Loans and 321Financial that imploded after the Federal Trade Commission went after them for defrauding consumers. Finley was arguing that the real estate … Read more
Don’t be shocked, but when it comes to the debt relief industry, it can get very nasty, very fast. I first covered a case involving GM Law Firm and attorney Macy Hanson, in 2018. You can see past GM Law Firm posts here. That first case also involved National Legal Staffing Support and Resolvly. It … Read more
American Financial Support Services (AFSS) was one of the companies that were sucked up in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action that involved Arete Financial Group, Arete Financial Freedom, CBC Conglomerate, 1file.org, Diamond Choice, Interest Rate Solutions, J&L Enterprise, Premier Solutions Servicing, La Casa Bonita Investments, Education Loan Network, Edunet, and US Financial Freedom Center. … Read more
It appears the suit filed by the National Association of Credit Services Organizations (NASCO) against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is kaput. This saga began about 10 months ago when NASCO was trying to raise money from members to sue the CFPB and rid the credit repair industry of the irritating Telemarketing Sales Rules … Read more
The new Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is signaling what I’ve been going on about for years when it comes to debt relief companies. Regulators want everyone to just deal with the consumer complaint in a professional way. See my post How to Handle a Consumer Complaint Like a Pro And Come … Read more