WASHINGTON–The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a proposed settlement with a number of companies it said misrepresented loan terms.
The companies involved include NDG Financial Corp., E-Care Contact Centers, Ltd., Blizzard Interactive Corp., New World Consolidated Lending Corp., New World Lenders Corp., Payroll Loans First Lenders Corp., New World RRSP Lenders Corp., Northway Financial Corp., Ltd., and Northway Broker, Ltd. Also named were corporate officials Kimberly DeThomas, Jeremy Sabourin, and William Wrixon. The entities and individuals are payday lenders and corporate officials based in Canada and Malta.
In its amended complaint, the Bureau alleged the defendants violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 by misrepresenting to consumers in states where loans offered by the defendants violated state licensing or usury laws that they were obligated to repay loan amounts when such an obligation did not exist because state law voided the loan.
Other Charges
According to the Bureau, the companies and individuals also:
- Misrepresented that the loan agreements were not subject to United States federal or state law
- Misrepresented that non-payment of debt would result in lawsuits, arrests, imprisonment, or wage garnishment
- Conditioned loan agreements upon irrevocable wage assignment clauses, which the Bureau alleges violated the Credit Practices Act
Under the terms of the proposed consent order, the CFPB said the defendants are permanently barred from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering, originating, servicing, or collecting any consumer loan issued to any consumer residing in the United States, including assisting others and receiving remuneration from providing service to assist others in this conduct.
The defendants are also permanently barred from collecting on any of their existing loans to United States consumers, including any efforts to assign, sell or transfer such loans or any other action that would allow anyone to collect on such loans. In addition, the defendants are permanently barred from disclosing, using, or benefitting from customer information associated with their existing loans to consumers in the United States.