A mortgage broker who allegedly dumped 40 boxes of consumers' financial records into a public trash bin paid $35,000 to settle charges that he violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The settlement, which the Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday, bars Gregory Navone of Las Vegas from misrepresenting measures taken to protect sensitive consumer information and from failing to take reasonable measures to protect credit report information during the disposal.
The settlement also requires him to adopt a "comprehensive information security program for sensitive consumer information, and to hire an independent, third-party security professional to review the program every year for 10 years," the FTC said.
Navone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2008, the FTC charged Navone and the two brokerages he owned — First Interstate Mortgage Corp. and Nevada One Corp. — with improperly disposing of at least 230 credit reports and other "sensitive consumer records."
Other records left in the trash bin included tax returns, mortgage applications, bank statements, photocopies of credit cards and driver's licenses, according to the FTC.
