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
Student loan debt relief scammer Brandon Frere and his companies, including Ameritech Financial, have entered into an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to settle charges they misled approximately 40,000 consumers about lowering their student loan debt. According to the FTC’s 2018 complaint, Brandon Frere and his companies sent personalized mail to consumers that falsely claimed … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just published their annual report on student loans. Some of the data jumped out at me. Fun Facts Students who take out college loans but don’t graduate are three times more likely to default than borrowers who complete. The average amount of recent defaults, as of March 31, 2020, is … Read more
What began as an action by the Federal Trade Commission against Brandon Frere, AFB, AF Student Services, Ameritech Financial, and Financial Education Benefits Center has almost reached its conclusion, reporting to prison. As a result of Frere’s student loan assistance activities, he was nabbed by the FBI at the airport. Frere was to report to … Read more
Brandon Frere is either the unluckiest debt relief executive or the first of a trend of debt relief company executives hit with criminal charges. Brandon was the guy behind American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC). Like other companies, AFBC first appeared on this site as a result of consumers sending in their junk mail to me. … Read more
Brandon Frere seems to be nearing the end of his legal issues with both the FTC and U.S. Attorney. A recent court filing in the American Financial Benefits Center case said, “As the Court is aware, on December 20, 2019, Defendant Brandon Frere entered a plea of guilty to one count each of wire fraud … Read more
American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC) was sued by the Federal Trade Commission. Company head honcho Brandon Frere objected to case filed in February 2018. In the original action, the FTC said they had “charged a student loan debt relief operation with bilking more than $28 million from thousands of consumers throughout the country by falsely … Read more
Brandon Frere who is the honcho behind American Financial Benefits Center and a subject of the action by the Federal Strade Commission against the student loan debt relief companies, has won a victory of sorts. Good News I received an alert that the court has awarded him a nine-month stay in the proceedings against him … Read more
Brandon Frere had his day in court where his attorney was able to spring him from jail on $3 million in bail. Frere is implicated in a student loan assistance scheme by the FTC that allegedly acted illegally and took about $30 million from consumers. According to the legal team representing Brandon Frere, his transfer … Read more
Student loan assistance company executive Brandon Frere, 41, was arrested and faces a maximum prison term of 20 years in jail. An FBI Special Agent has stated in unsealed documents that Frere, the honcho of American Financial Benefits Center, a student loan assistance company sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was arrested just prior … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Are you familiar with Ameritech? I can’t seem to get an answer from anyone there as to the status of things in general. My daughter has paperwork with them and we I don’t know to assess the situation. No one seems to think what I saw on the internet with the FTC … Read more
I’ve been helping people with debt advice or assistance since 1994 but this marketing just revealed in public filings is creepy as hell. If I had not seen the images myself I would not have believed it. This material was made public in the suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission against American Financial Benefits … Read more
Under the heading of “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” I was reading a recent FTC filing in the case involving American Financial Benefits Center. An FTC investigator made a call to an AFBC sales agent named Hollywood. The sales representative asks the undercover investigator about how big her family is. HOLLYWOOD: Three, so is … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission has charged a student loan debt relief operation with bilking more than $28 million from thousands of consumers throughout the country by falsely promising that consumers’ monthly payments would go towards paying off their student loans. This is the eighth action the FTC has taken in Operation Game of Loans, the … Read more
I must admit the American Financial Benefits Center, Ameritech Financial, Financial Education Benefits Center, and Brandon Frere must have incredibly creative attorneys advising them. Frankly, I’m not sure I get the path they are on. Back in August of 2017 the American Financial Benefits Centers, a student loan document preparation company went with the strategy … Read more