Debt collection

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman‘s office has reached settlements with five companies charged with violating the state’s usury and licensed lender laws through the collection of payday loans.

While lawsuits citing violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) fell in August on both a monthly and yearly comparison, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits are rising fast, according to data from U.S. district courts.

Two Ohio tax service store managers have been indicted on federal fraud charges related to tax returns they prepared in 2011. The tax and loan scheme cost the government more than $250,000.

A federal court has halted a scheme involving a non-existent money-lending service that allegedly conned more than $6 million from U.S. and Canadian consumers.

A Glendale, Calif.-based owner of two collection agencies will pay $1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that his employees used text messages to try collecting debts - without disclosing they were debt collectors.

A New Jersey woman has sued two collection companies in a class-action case alleging consumer fraud over allegations they misled Victoria's Secret cardholders about interest on debts.

With demand for autos reaching a nearly six-year high, consumer spending was expected to rise in August for a fourth consecutive month, economists said before reports this week.

Consumers who were duped in a fraudulent telemarketing scheme operated by JPM Accelerated Services will be getting refunds from the Federal Trade Commission.

Consumers in financial distress are increasingly placing more value on paying their mortgages than their credit cards, a reversal of the trend observed during the housing downturn, a TransUnion study found.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced late last week that nearly $2 million has been returned to local governments through his Local Government Collection Services Program.

An affiliate marketing company and its two principals have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges for allegedly sending out more than 42.5 million unwanted and deceptive text messages to consumers.

Two companies have settled charges that they used prerecorded calls to trick consumers into deceptive credit card interest rate reduction scams.

More than 770,000 U.S. homes were in foreclosure at the close of the second quarter ended June 30, according to the latest data provided by RealtyTrac.

A federal court judge in Florida has banned the defendants behind an alleged credit card interest rate reduction scam from selling debt-relief service and telemarketing any services.

Patrick Pinto, a former vice president at Oxford Collection Agency, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to two years of probation for bribing an executive at U.S. Bank. Pinto also must pay a $10,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.

The defendants in Tampa, Fla.-based operations that allegedly bilked consumers of millions of dollars are banned from providing the types of financial services used in their schemes. The settlement includes a $25.3 million judgment against one defendant.

U.S. consumer credit growth slowed for the second straight month in July as a key measure of credit card usage fell, indicating consumers might be growing more cautious.

While 10.7 million residential homeowners nationwide owe at least 25% or more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, another 8.3 million homeowners are on track to have enough equity to sell sometime in the next 15 months, according to a new report.

A U.S. district court has halted a Tampa, Fla.-based operation that promised to help consumers get payday loans. Instead of loans, the defendants used consumers’ personal financial information to debit their bank accounts in increments of $30 without their authorization, the FTC alleged.

Two attorneys, an appraiser and two others have been indicted for their roles in a New York mortgage fraud ring that operated for years and netted more than $1 million by preying on first-time home buyers and institutional lenders.