To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week:

Federal Activities

State Activities

Federal Activities:

  • On October 11, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced new effective dates for amendments to rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act aimed at strengthening consumer protections against robocalls and robotexts. These amendments will take effect on April 11, 2025. Highlights of the amendments, include: consumers may revoke consent to robocalls and robotexts “in any reasonable manner” — including use of the words: stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel, or unsubscribe; callers must honor do-not-call and revocation requests “as soon as practicable” — no later than 10 business days after the request; and text-senders may send one text message in response to a revocation request confirming or clarifying the scope of the request within five minutes. For more information, click here.
  • On October 10, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a landmark redlining settlement with Citadel Federal Credit Union (Citadel), marking the first such agreement with a credit union in the DOJ’s history. This settlement, the 14th in DOJ’s Combatting Redlining Initiative since 2021, addresses allegations that Citadel engaged in discriminatory lending practices by redlining predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia. Under the terms of the proposed consent order, Citadel will pay more than $6.5 million to resolve these allegations. For more information, click here.
  • On October 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Chicago-based Cumberland DRW LLC with operating as an unregistered dealer in more than $2 billion of crypto assets offered and sold as securities. According to the SEC’s complaint, Cumberland has been acting as an unregistered dealer since at least March 2018, trading crypto assets as securities for its own accounts through its platform, Marea. The SEC alleges that Cumberland’s activities violated federal securities laws designed to protect investors. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. For more information, click here.
  • On October 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a ban on private dispute resolution platform Ejudicate from arbitrating disputes about consumer financial products. The CFPB found that Ejudicate misled student borrowers about its neutrality and initiated sham arbitration proceedings for Prehired. Specifically, the CFPB found that Ejudicate described itself as “neutral and unbiased” in communications with consumers, despite having entered into a contingency fee agreement with Prehired that provided for payment for each claim settled. Further, it was alleged that Ejudicate required consumers to “agree” to its terms of service, which purported to bind consumers to Ejudicate’s dispute resolution process, even if consumers simply wanted to review the claims against them. For more information, click here.
  • On October 9, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced charges against 18 individuals and entities for widespread fraud and manipulation in the cryptocurrency markets. This marks the first-ever criminal charges against financial services firms for market manipulation and “wash trading” in the cryptocurrency industry. The defendants, including leaders of four cryptocurrency companies and four market-making firms, allegedly engaged in deceptive practices such as creating false trading activity to inflate token prices and executing “pump and dump” schemes. Authorities have seized more than $25 million in cryptocurrency and deactivated multiple trading bots responsible for millions of dollars in wash trades. That same day, the SEC announced fraud charges against three companies purporting to be market makers and nine individuals for engaging in schemes to manipulate the markets for various crypto assets. The SEC alleged the schemes were intended to induce investors to purchase the crypto assets by creating the false appearance of an active trading market for them. For more information, click here and here.
  • On October 9, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), DOJ, and CFPB issued a warning to consumers about potential fraud and price gouging in the wake of an impending major hurricane. Scammers often exploit natural disasters to deceive people seeking to recover or donate to victims. Consumers are urged to report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan emphasized that no American should worry about being ripped off when fleeing a hurricane, and the FTC, along with state enforcers, will continue to combat such exploitative practices. For more information, click here.
  • On October 8, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced an extension of the comment period for its notice of proposed rulemaking (aimed at revising the 2020 Brokered Deposit Rule). To ensure that all interested parties have sufficient time to review the proposed changes and prepare their comments, the FDIC has extended the comment period from October 22 to November 21. The proposed amendments include: amending the definition of “deposit broker;” eliminating the exclusive deposit placement arrangement exception; eliminating the enabling transactions designated business exception; reducing the broker-dealer designated business exception limit from 25% to 10%; updating notice processes to the primary purpose exception and restricting applicants to only insured depository institutions (IDI); and clarifying the process for an IDI to regain its “agent institution” status. For more information, click here.
  • On October 8, the FDIC announced the extension of the comment period for its request for information (RFI) on deposit data until December 6. The RFI seeks insights on deposit characteristics, including uninsured deposits, to enhance risk and liquidity monitoring, inform deposit insurance coverage analysis, and improve the risk sensitivity of deposit insurance pricing. The extension provides the public with additional time to prepare and submit their comments. For more information, click here.
  • On October 8, Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against the SEC, alleging that the agency is overstepping its jurisdiction by regulating the cryptocurrency industry. The lawsuit follows a “Wells notice” from the SEC, indicating that tokens traded on Crypto.com’s platform qualify as securities. Crypto.com contends that the SEC has unlawfully expanded its jurisdiction and established a rule that nearly all crypto asset trades are securities transactions. The case, filed in a federal court in Tyler, TX, also names SEC Chair Gary Gensler and four other commissioners as defendants. Two days later, Bitnomial Exchange, LLC filed a similar suit against the SEC in the Northern District of Illinois. For more information, click here and here.
  • On October 7, the CFPB published the Fall edition of its Supervisory Highlights, focusing on examinations of the auto-finance market completed between November 1, 2023, and August 30, 2024. The report highlights significant findings across various aspects of consumers’ experiences with vehicle finance, including origination disclosures, repossession activities, servicing practices, the handling of add-on products, and credit reporting. For more information, click here.
  • On October 7, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report revealing the expansion of the billion-dollar cyberfraud industry in Southeast Asia, driven by Asian crime syndicates adopting new technologies such as malware, generative artificial intelligence (AI), and deepfakes. The report, titled “Transnational Organized Crime and the Convergence of Cyber-Enabled Fraud, Underground Banking, and Technological Innovation: A Shifting Threat Landscape,” highlights how these groups are leveraging technological advances to produce large-scale, harder-to-detect fraud and money laundering operations. The report also notes a significant rise in AI-driven crimes and calls for governments to prioritize solutions to address this rapidly evolving criminal ecosystem. For more information, click here.
  • On October 4, the CFPB and the Federal Reserve Board announced the dollar thresholds for determining whether certain consumer credit and lease transactions in 2025 are subject to protections under Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing). Based on a 3.4% increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, these regulations will generally apply to transactions of $71,900 or less. Notably, private education loans and loans secured by real property, such as mortgages, remain subject to Regulation Z regardless of the loan amount. For more information, click here.

State Activities:

  • On October 4, the Illinois Attorney General filed a combined memorandumin opposition to plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and in support of his motion to dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The dispute arises out of the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), which was signed into law in June, and prohibits credit or debit card issuers and any other entities involved in processing electronic payments from charging an interchange fee on the tax or gratuity portions of a transaction. Additionally, the Act, which is set to take effect in July 2025, restricts banks and other entities from using transaction data for purposes other than processing the transaction, except as required by law. Several banking associations quickly challenged the Act, seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent its implementation. They argue that the IFPA is preempted by federal law, unconstitutional, and invalid. The AG argues that the associations’ motion should be denied and the complaint dismissed on the grounds of sovereign immunity and lack of Article III standing. Specifically, the AG argues that the IFPA is not preempted by any federal statute and that the plaintiffs have failed to establish the necessary elements for preliminary relief. For more information, click here.
  • On September 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied a credit repair organization’s motion for partial summary judgment and granted the CFPB and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ motion for summary judgment in a case alleging violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), and Massachusetts state law. The lawsuit accused Key Credit Repair of: (1) making false representations that it could remove all negative items from consumers’ credit reports and substantially improve their credit scores; and (2) requesting payment in advance of full performance. In its summary judgment order, the court determined that Key Credit Repair’s practice of charging upfront fees before delivering promised results violated the TSR. Additionally, the representations about their services’ ability to improve credit scores were found to be deceptive and in violation of the CFPA and Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A. The court ordered legal restitution of $31,723,003 to consumers and civil penalties of $9,570,091 against Key Credit Repair and its owner. For more information, click here.
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Photo of Ethan G. Ostroff Ethan G. Ostroff

Ethan Ostroff’s practice focuses on financial services litigation and consumer law compliance counseling. Ethan is part of the firm’s national practice representing consumer-facing companies of all types in defense of individual and class action claims and counseling them on compliance with federal and

Ethan Ostroff’s practice focuses on financial services litigation and consumer law compliance counseling. Ethan is part of the firm’s national practice representing consumer-facing companies of all types in defense of individual and class action claims and counseling them on compliance with federal and state laws.

Photo of Alan D. Wingfield Alan D. Wingfield

Alan Wingfield helps consumer-facing clients navigate compliance, litigation and regulatory risks posed by the complex web of state and federal consumer protection laws. He is a trusted advisor and tireless advocate, helping clients develop practical compliance and dispute-resolution strategies.

Photo of Elizabeth Briones Elizabeth Briones

Elizabeth is an associate in the Consumer Financial Services practice who represents businesses large and small – from corporations to local partnerships. She is an experienced litigator with a background in complex matters ranging from corporate contract disputes, premises liability, negligence, fraud, and…

Elizabeth is an associate in the Consumer Financial Services practice who represents businesses large and small – from corporations to local partnerships. She is an experienced litigator with a background in complex matters ranging from corporate contract disputes, premises liability, negligence, fraud, and other business torts. She has appeared in state, federal, and multidistrict litigation.

Photo of Jed Komisin Jed Komisin

Jed defends clients engaged in civil litigation. He has significant courtroom experience and works with his clients to find comprehensive solutions to their legal issues.

Photo of Addison Morgan Addison Morgan

Addison is an associate in the firm’s nationally recognized Consumer Financial Services Practice Group. He has represented several of the nation’s preeminent financial institutions in litigation arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Fair Debt…

Addison is an associate in the firm’s nationally recognized Consumer Financial Services Practice Group. He has represented several of the nation’s preeminent financial institutions in litigation arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the FTC Holder Rule, and other consumer protection state analogs.

Photo of Trey Smith Trey Smith

Trey is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement Practice. He focuses his practice on helping financial institutions and consumer facing companies navigate regulatory investigations and resulting litigation. He has experience litigating the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the FTC Act…

Trey is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement Practice. He focuses his practice on helping financial institutions and consumer facing companies navigate regulatory investigations and resulting litigation. He has experience litigating the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the FTC Act, the Truth in Lending Act, state UDAAP statutes, and other consumer protection laws.

Photo of Thailer Buari Thailer Buari

Thailer is an attorney in the firm’s Consumer Financial Service practice, where he represents clients in consumer law, business disputes, and commercial litigation. Thailer manages cases from inception to trial, focusing on all aspects of the litigation process, including case development, settlement negotiations…

Thailer is an attorney in the firm’s Consumer Financial Service practice, where he represents clients in consumer law, business disputes, and commercial litigation. Thailer manages cases from inception to trial, focusing on all aspects of the litigation process, including case development, settlement negotiations, legal research and analysis, document review, motions hearings, and mediations.