Richard B. Newman
Member
Heads up for those engaged in student loan debt relief lead gen campaigns. State AGs are becoming more and more active these days, coordinating with federal regulators and investigating the advertising and data use practices of everyone in the stream of commerce, including PPC networks.
In fact, last month the Federal Trade Commission and the Florida Attorney General’s Office announced a settlement with the operators of an alleged student debt relief and credit repair scam.
The stipulated final order resolves charges the FTC and the State of Florida brought in April 2016. The defendants allegedly lured borrowers with false promises of “eliminating” their student loan debts and repairing their credit and then charged illegal up-front fees, and posted positive online reviews of their services to appear as if customers wrote them.
The order also bars the defendants from misrepresenting endorsements, profiting from consumers’ personal information, and failing to dispose of it properly. It imposes a judgment of more than $2.3 million, representing the amount of money consumers lost, which will be suspended upon payment of virtually all of their assets, totaling $4,500. The full judgment will become due immediately if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.
Contact a regulation, compliance and litigation defense lawyer if you would like to discuss the design and implementation of compliant advertising campaigns, or if you are the subject of a local, state attorney general or Federal Trade Commission investigation or enforcement action.
These materials are provided for informational purposes only and are not to be considered legal advice, nor do they create a lawyer-client relationship. No person should act or rely on any information in this article without seeking the advice of an attorney. Information on previous case results does not guarantee a similar future result.
In fact, last month the Federal Trade Commission and the Florida Attorney General’s Office announced a settlement with the operators of an alleged student debt relief and credit repair scam.
The stipulated final order resolves charges the FTC and the State of Florida brought in April 2016. The defendants allegedly lured borrowers with false promises of “eliminating” their student loan debts and repairing their credit and then charged illegal up-front fees, and posted positive online reviews of their services to appear as if customers wrote them.
The order also bars the defendants from misrepresenting endorsements, profiting from consumers’ personal information, and failing to dispose of it properly. It imposes a judgment of more than $2.3 million, representing the amount of money consumers lost, which will be suspended upon payment of virtually all of their assets, totaling $4,500. The full judgment will become due immediately if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.
Contact a regulation, compliance and litigation defense lawyer if you would like to discuss the design and implementation of compliant advertising campaigns, or if you are the subject of a local, state attorney general or Federal Trade Commission investigation or enforcement action.
These materials are provided for informational purposes only and are not to be considered legal advice, nor do they create a lawyer-client relationship. No person should act or rely on any information in this article without seeking the advice of an attorney. Information on previous case results does not guarantee a similar future result.
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