On August 18, following a bench trial, the United States District Court for the District of Nevada found defendants Terrason Spinks and his company, Jet Processing, Inc., jointly and severally liable for $280,911,870 in consumer injury caused by violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”) and Electronic Fund Transfer Act (“EFTA”). This case
DOJ Permits Banks to Create Real-Time Payment System
On September 21, the Department of Justice cleared the way for a group of the twenty-four largest U.S. banks to create a real-time payment system that will permit immediate transfer of funds between financial institutions. The system was proposed by The Clearing House Payments Co., LLC (“TCH”), a joint venture between the twenty-four banks that
Operation Choke Point Terminated
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the end of Operation Choke Point in an August 16 letter to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Operation Choke Point, which began under the Obama Administration, sought to prohibit banks and other financial firms from giving so-called “bad actors” access to bank accounts and payment processing systems.
FTC Files Complaint Against Merchants and ISO for Alleged Credit Card Laundering
On July 28, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona against several merchants, an Independent Sales Organization (“ISO”), and their affiliated companies (a total of twelve defendants) alleging that they had engaged in credit card laundering in violation of Sec. 13(b) of the FTC
CFPB Prioritizes Redlining, Loan Servicing, and Small Business Lending
In its fifth annual fair lending report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlighted redlining, mortgage and student loan servicing, and small business lending as areas of focus for 2017. CFPB Director Richard Cordray specifically noted these areas for enhanced enforcement actions, describing them as “significant or emerging fair lending risk to consumers.”
“In 2017
Chipotle Discloses Data Security Breach Related to Network Supporting Payment Processing for Restaurant
In its Form 10-Q dated April 25, 2017 for the quarterly period that ended on March 31, 2017, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. announced that it had detected a data security breach in its electronic processing and transmission of confidential customer and employee information. Specifically, Chipotle’s information security team detected unauthorized activity on the network that
State Banking Regulators File Suit Challenging OCC Fintech Charter
On April 26, a group of state bank regulators filed a lawsuit to block the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency from issuing special charters to fintech firms. The regulators argue that the OCC fintech charter will improperly displace already effective state laws regulating fintech companies, that the OCC lacks the authority to issue
CFPB Files Suit Against Four Online Lenders Operated by Native American Tribe
On April 27, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit in an Illinois federal court against four online installment loan companies operated by a California Native American tribe. Although the tribe operates the installment loan companies, the CFPB’s complaint alleges that the defendants are not “arms of the tribe” and therefore
U.S. District Court Dismisses CFPB Case Against Payment Processor
On March 17, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota granted Intercept Corporation (“Intercept”), Bryan Smith, and Craig Dresser’s Motion to Dismiss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) Complaint in the case between the CFPB and Intercept. The decision to grant the Motion to Dismiss marks the first time that the Bureau
Join Us on March 23 for a Complimentary Webinar on Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) – Latest Trends and Developments
Over the past few years, Regulation E, which implements the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, has been cited by federal regulators in rulemaking, enforcement actions and bulletins. The CFPB has not only used the EFTA in its rulemaking concerning prepaid accounts, but it has filed enforcement actions for alleged violations of EFTA and issued bulletins concerning