On July 22, a Texas-based lease-to-own company filed suit against the CFPB in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that its “illegal and unconstitutional investigation” into the company’s business...more
On May 16, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, held that the CFPB’s funding mechanism does not violate the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution. As we previously discussed in greater detail, under the...more
On March 27, the CFPB issued Circular 2024-02, which warns that remittance providers may be liable under the CFPA for certain deceptive marketing practices related to the speed or cost of sending a remittance transfer. Under...more
On March 7, the FTC announced it had finalized substantial revisions to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (the proposed rule was discussed here). Since promulgated in 1995, the TSR has been amended four times, most recently in...more
3/18/2024
/ B2B Organizations ,
Do Not Call List ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Misleading Statements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Robocalling ,
Scams ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
On February 21, the Minnesota Attorney General settled an action against executives of a Montana-based tribal lender for alleged predatory lending practices. In its complaint, filed in October 2023, the AG alleged the company...more
On March 5, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against a network of over 30 lending companies and their officers alleging their involvement in a predatory “merchant cash advance” lending scheme that exploited New...more
On February 22, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed Jonathan Mayer as the Justice Department’s inaugural Chief Science and Technology Advisor and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. Mayer will sit in the Justice...more
On February 6, the FTC announced that it had reached proposed settlements with several defendants in a pending action where the parties were accused of operating a fraudulent student debt relief scheme and collecting...more
In December, the CFPB brought a series of three separate enforcement actions against several financial services companies alleging a range of violations of federal consumer protections laws....more
1/29/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Damages ,
Debt Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EFTA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
ILSFDA ,
Popular
On January 10, the CFPB and the attorneys generals of Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin sued a New York-based debt relief company and its founders in the U.S. District Court for...more
On January 23, the FTC entered into a settlement agreement with a cash-advance fintech app for $3 million over violations of the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), and ECOA....more
1/29/2024
/ Bank Service Providers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Disclosure ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FTC Act ,
Refunds ,
ROSCA ,
Settlement Agreements
On November 21, the FTC voted 3-0 to approve the omnibus resolution authorizing the use of compulsory process in nonpublic investigations involving products and services that use or claim to be produced using artificial...more
12/11/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Competition ,
COPPA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Investigations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UDAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 21, a Washington-based bank confirmed through a public filing that it entered into a consent order with the FDIC alleging that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound banking practices, primarily related to products...more
On November 7, the FTC and the State of Florida settled with a chargeback mitigation company and its owners for $150,000. The chargeback company was allegedly using deceptive practices, including referencing disclaimers that...more
On November 15, the CFPB issued an order requiring an Illinois-based fintech lender to pay $15 million in fines. The order additionally prohibits the company from operating in certain lines of business and requires revision...more
11/17/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Informed Consent ,
Lenders ,
Redress Payments ,
Short-Term Loans
On November 2, the FTC entered into a settlement agreement with a Manhattan-based fintech company for $18 million over alleged deceptively marketed cash advances to consumers and impeding customers’ ability to cancel...more
On October 17, the CFPB took action against a nonbank fintech company for allegedly deceiving consumers about the speed and cost of remittance transfers through its mobile app. The Bureau also alleges that the company...more
On August 22, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against an installment lending company and several of its subsidiaries in South Carolina federal court, alleging that the company engaged in illegal “loan-churning” practices that...more
On August 2, the CFPB filed a lawsuit in Georgia federal court against an auto-loan servicer alleging that the company engaged in various illegal practices that harmed consumers with auto loans. The auto-loan servicer offered...more
On July 19, the CPFB filed a complaint against a lease-to-own finance company, alleging that the company has offered and provided millions of “lease-purchase” and “rental-purchase” financing agreements in ways that have...more
7/20/2023
/ Advertising ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On May 15, the Pennsylvania Attorney General Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a $11 million settlement with a rent-to-own lender and its subsidiaries accused of engaging in predatory financing practices. Among other...more
On May 5, the CFPB announced that it has sent payments totaling more than $22 million to approximately 6,500 individuals who were harmed by a Maryland-based debt-relief and credit-repair company that marketed and sold...more
On May 1, NYDFS settled with a cryptocurrency trading platform over the company’s cybersecurity deficiencies, resulting in a consent order and $1.2 million fine for the crypto company. NYDFS alleged “multiple deficiencies in...more
5/15/2023
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NYDFS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Settlement ,
Trading Platforms
On April 25, the CFPB, FTC, EEOC, and Civil Rights Division of the DOJ issued a joint statement outlining the agencies’ collective commitment to monitor the development and use of automated systems and artificial intelligence...more
On April 4, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra delivered remarks at the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Global Policy Summit on the importance of reigning in repeat violators of consumer finance and privacy laws....more