Is Debtpay Gateway Legit or a Scam?

Quick Answer: Debtpay Gateway appears to be operating illegitimately, continuing to collect payments despite Arete Financial Freedom’s FTC shutdown and non-functional contact methods. The customer should immediately contact Debtpay Gateway to demand explanation of ongoing withdrawals and consider disputing charges through their bank.Question:Dear Steve,I had already contracted with them before the FTC probe and subsequent …

Read more

Arete Financial Review: Is It Legit?

Quick Answer: Arete Financial is not legitimate and has been permanently banned from offering debt relief services through a court order. The company and its affiliates agreed to a $22,079,787.30 judgment and cannot operate in debt relief for 15 years.The court just recorded an apparent final disposition in the Arete Financial Freedom lawsuit.The parties included …

Read more

Luxury Car Repo: What It Means and What to Do

Quick Answer: The FTC shut down American Financial Support Services, a student loan assistance company whose executives leased luxury vehicles including a 2019 Lamborghini Urus, 2019 Rolls Royce Cullinan, and 2020 BMW 750i. A court-appointed receiver returned all leased vehicles to their lessors after finding no equity in the assets.The closure of American Financial Support …

Read more

Scammer Scams: Are They Legit or a Scam?

Quick Answer: Scammers are targeting former customers of the shutdown American Financial Support Services, posing as representatives offering refunds while requesting banking information. The Federal Trade Commission-appointed receiver warns these refund calls are fraudulent attempts to exploit consumers who were already victimized by the original student loan scam.American Financial Support Services was shutdown for bad …

Read more

Student Debt Relief Scam Pays $835K FTC Settlement

Quick Answer: Five individuals behind Arete Financial Group’s student loan debt relief scheme will pay $835,000 to settle FTC allegations of charging illegal upfront fees and falsely promising loan forgiveness while pretending to be affiliated with the Department of Education. The settlement bans the defendants from providing student loan debt relief services and includes a …

Read more

Is Supreme Advocates Linked to Arete Financial?

Quick Answer: Supreme Advocates shows concerning red flags suggesting potential connections to questionable operators, including a BBB logo that incorrectly links to Spectrum Payment Solutions (run by Samson Ly) and address discrepancies between their website and California business registration. The mismatched business information and deceptive website elements indicate this company should be avoided.Question:Dear Steve,It has …

Read more

Arete Financial Freedom: Is Back Pay Legit?

Quick Answer: Arete Financial Freedom’s back pay situation remains unresolved as the court-appointed receiver is not authorized to pay pre-receivership debts without further court order. Despite the company’s temporary victory allowing it to service accounts again, former employees must pursue back pay independently while the receiver handles only W-2 distributions. While Arete Financial Freedom had …

Read more

Is Arete Financial Legit or a Scam?

Quick Answer: Arete Financial Freedom faced FTC action for alleged abuses in student loan services and used deceptive personal loan mailers as bait-and-switch tactics to sell debt settlement programs. The company’s legitimacy is questionable given federal regulatory intervention and misleading marketing practices that failed to clearly disclose program terms to consumers.Arete Financial Freedom was targeted …

Read more

Arete Settlement: When It Helps and When It Hurts

Quick Answer: Arete Financial Freedom’s settlement business was halted after an FTC lawsuit over student loan assistance issues, though the company is negotiating to restart operations. The FTC and Arete cannot agree on consumer notification requirements, leaving the settlement service relaunch on hold pending further negotiations or court ruling.Arete Financial Freedom, and others named, were …

Read more

Arete Financial Freedom: When It Helps, Hurts

Quick Answer: Arete Financial Freedom both helps and hurts consumers as the FTC-appointed Receiver seeks to sell 7,700+ settlement accounts to New Era Debt Solutions for $1.2 million while consumers remain in limbo. The court must decide between the sale or Arete’s request to continue operating the settlement business.The court-appointed Receiver in the case against …

Read more