Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced updated legislation that will remove fees for security freezes and consumer credit reports. The new legislation (SB 130/HB 134) includes several pro-consumer changes:
In a September 19 speech at the Federal Communications Bar Association in Washington, FTC Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen stated that the Commission should focus on addressing instances of “substantial consumer injury” in deciding which cases to pursue. Echoing (intentionally or not) the language of the Supreme Court’s foundational decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins
On September 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau signed a consent order against payday and installment loan company Zero Parallel LLC and its president and primary owner for acts the CFPB alleged were unfair, deceptive, and abusive. The order concludes the matter initiated by a complaint filed against the owner of Zero Parallel and another
On September 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a complaint, together with a proposed consent order, against Top Notch Funding II, LLC, Rory Donadio, and John “Gene” Cavalli, alleging that the defendants engaged in deceptive practices in offering loans to consumers who are awaiting payments from settlements or victim compensation funds. These
In response to the nationwide opioid crisis, forty-one state attorneys general issued subpoenas to five opioid drug manufacturers and three drug distributors this week. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman made the first public announcement of the multistate investigation. The subpoena demands information and documentation from the manufacturers and distributors regarding prescription opioid drugs as
On Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) issued its first no-action letter to Upstart Network, Inc., an online lender. The no-action letter green-lights the lender’s use of alternative data in marketing and pricing decisions. In exchange, Upstart will report lending and compliance information to the CFPB.
California-based Upstart provides an
The Federal Trade Commission settled its first-ever action against individual social media influencers for failing to disclose connections to brands the influencers endorsed. The action – against Trevor Martin (also known as “TmarTn”), Thomas Cassell (also known as “Syndicate”), and CSGOLotto, Inc. – alleged that Martin and Cassell endorsed CSGOLotto on their social media pages
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently released its Summer 2017 Supervisory Highlights, which summarizes the agency’s supervisory activities during the first half of this year.
Looking to the numbers. From January through June, the CFPB’s nonpublic supervisory activities led to restitution payments that totaled approximately $14 million, and public enforcement actions that netted an
On August 24, the United States District Court for the Western District of New York entered a Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction and Monetary Judgment against the last of a group of defendants who engaged in banned debt collection practices. The defendant, Anthony Coppola, is now barred from debt collection activities, misrepresenting material facts of
On August 21, the Federal Trade Commission charged a North Carolina debt collection operation with using deception and intimidation to collect money from consumers for debts they did not owe or that the group had no right to collect. On August 24, the District Court for the Western District of North Carolina granted a temporary