WASHINGTON—The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reporting it has resolved an appeal in a long-running enforcement suit against an alleged foreclosure relief scam operation for $12 million in consumer redress and penalties.
Consumer First Legal Group, LLC and four attorneys, Thomas G. Macey, Jeffrey J. Aleman, Jason Searns, and Harold E. Stafford, charged millions of dollars in illegal advance fees to financially-distressed homeowners for legal representation the defendants promised but did not provide, the CFPB said.
“This case was part of a coordinated effort against various foreclosure relief scam operations by the CFPB, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and 15 states in 2014,” the Bureau said.
The CFPB filed three lawsuits, the FTC filed six lawsuits, and the states took 32 actions.
Earlier Judgement
The CFPB won a judgment against the defendants in 2019. The case has been ongoing given multiple appeals. The settlement brings the case to an end, the CFPB said.
Under the resolution announced, the defendants will pay $10.9 million in consumer redress and a $1.1 million penalty into the CFPB’s victims relief fund. The individual defendants are covered by eight- or five-year bans from the mortgage assistance industry, under the district court’s original order, the CFPB said.
Read the enforcement resolution and joint dismissal agreement.
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