On December 4, the CFPB filed a proposed stipulated judgment against a student loan debt-relief company and its owner to resolve its 2021 action against defendants for allegedly charging borrowers more than $3.5 million in unlawful advance fees. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the Bureau alleged that between 2015 and 2019, the defendants violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the CFPA by unlawfully marketing and enrolling borrowers in the company’s purported debt relief services.

If approved by the court, the defendants would (i) permanently be banned from offering or providing consumer financial products or services or using or selling any customer information, and (ii) pay a civil money penalty, in this case $2,000, due to the defendants’ inability to pay a higher penalty. It would also require the owner to dissolve both the business and a related business that was engaged in the allegedly unlawful activities.