Delton de Armas, a former chief financial officer (CFO) of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), pleaded guilty today to making false statements and conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of TBW and Colonial Bank. The guilty …
It was announced today that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have signed an agreement to coordinate efforts to protect consumers in an effort to avoid duplication of federal law enforcement and regulatory efforts. The memorandum of the two agencies’ understand can be viewed here. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street …
If you have a child and are saving for their college fund, chances are you’ve heard of the company Upromise. Upromise is a company that offers consumers a membership service that allows them to save money for college. When consumers make a purchase or buy a service from a Upromise partner merchant they then receive …
It was announced today that a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action has banned a payment processor from using a new payment method to debit accounts after allegedly debiting millions from consumers’ bank accounts without their consent. Payment processors provide merchants with the ability to obtain customer payments for products and services via electronic banking. According …
Douglas Vaughan faces 10 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire and mail fraud charges that involved his operation of a “Ponzi” scheme where he defrauded around 600 investors of more than $74 million. Vaughan promised extraordinary returns which he obviously did not follow through with. In February of 2011, in an …
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced they are requiring “U.S. Homeowners Relief” defendants to pay millions in their settlement along with banning them from the debt and mortgage relief business. The FTC had charged six defendants (that have agreed to settle) in the participation of a fraudulent mortgage modifications and foreclosure relief scheme. The settlement …
Four years after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a case against Randall Leshlin and his debt management services company, Express Consolidation, the FTC is mailing out refund checks to almost 3,000 consumers across the country that fell victim to worthless debt management services. The reimbursement stems from a February 2009 contempt finding against Florida …
Today, the Federal Trade Commission will host the third in a series of roundtables around the country to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the leasing of motor vehicles at dealerships. The roundtable also will address what has been learned about auto sales, financing and leasing at all of the roundtables; what consumer and business …
It’s official! The last remaining defendants in an allegedly fraudulent mortgage modification scheme called “Hope Now” have settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that will permanently ban them from the mortgage assistance and relief business. They will also be forced to return any fraudulent-earned gains to consumers. The settlement with Michael Kwasnik and his …
(Try saying that title ten times fast) In March of this year the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stepped up it’s efforts against scams that targeted financially strapped consumers with more than 90 actions brought by the commission and its law enforcement partners in a investigation called “Operation Empty Promises.” Within this investigation the FTC looked …