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May 26, 2016
FTC, Florida stop 2 phony debt-relief schemes
The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Florida said Wednesday they are taking action against two separate operations charged with running deceptive student-loan-debt-relief schemes.
In the first case, FTC and the state of Florida say operators of the Consumer Assistance Project lured borrowers in with promises such as "GET RID OF YOUR DEBT TODAY!" and then charged illegal up-front fees for its supposed services – roughly $250 and monthly fees of up to $303 for as long as three years.
The company said consumers qualified for government student-loan-forgiveness programs that would reduce their debt by 50 to 70 percent, but FTC notes most consumers don't meet the requirements for those programs.
In the second case, Student Aid Center Inc. and its owners are charged with duping consumers with promises such as "Get Your Student Loans Forgiven Now!" and "$17,500 in Up Front Forgiveness?" The scheme also had consumers believing they were "approved" or "pre-approved" for loan forgiveness and lower monthly payments and that they could get them by paying up-front monthly fees of roughly $199 or more for five months.
Some consumers who sought refunds from Student Aid Center Inc. were threatened by the company that their accounts would be sent to collection.
In a similar case earlier this year, the operators of another student-debt-relief scheme have agreed to an FTC settlement that permanently bans them from the debt-relief business. The owners of Good EBusiness, Select Student Loan Help LLC and Select Document Preparation Inc., charged consumers up-front fees of $500 to $800 based on deceptive claims that they could alter payment terms on student-loan debt.
That settlement, among other things, imposed a $2,329,456 judgment that will be suspended when the operators have surrendered any remaining business assets.
In the first case, FTC and the state of Florida say operators of the Consumer Assistance Project lured borrowers in with promises such as "GET RID OF YOUR DEBT TODAY!" and then charged illegal up-front fees for its supposed services – roughly $250 and monthly fees of up to $303 for as long as three years.
The company said consumers qualified for government student-loan-forgiveness programs that would reduce their debt by 50 to 70 percent, but FTC notes most consumers don't meet the requirements for those programs.
In the second case, Student Aid Center Inc. and its owners are charged with duping consumers with promises such as "Get Your Student Loans Forgiven Now!" and "$17,500 in Up Front Forgiveness?" The scheme also had consumers believing they were "approved" or "pre-approved" for loan forgiveness and lower monthly payments and that they could get them by paying up-front monthly fees of roughly $199 or more for five months.
Some consumers who sought refunds from Student Aid Center Inc. were threatened by the company that their accounts would be sent to collection.
In a similar case earlier this year, the operators of another student-debt-relief scheme have agreed to an FTC settlement that permanently bans them from the debt-relief business. The owners of Good EBusiness, Select Student Loan Help LLC and Select Document Preparation Inc., charged consumers up-front fees of $500 to $800 based on deceptive claims that they could alter payment terms on student-loan debt.
That settlement, among other things, imposed a $2,329,456 judgment that will be suspended when the operators have surrendered any remaining business assets.
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