World Law Group Banned in North Carolina

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper's office announced an extended court order against one of the largest debt settlement firms in the U.S. that will keep the company from collecting money.

World Law Group, under terms of the preliminary injunction signed by Wake County (N.C.) Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins will be banned from offering debt settlement services in the state. The order prohibits World Law Group from entering into contracts or collecting any fees from residents of the state.

World Law Group allegedly collected at least $4.1 million for debt settlement services in North Carolina since 2010. The firm allegedly used only $527,000 to pay creditors and took $2.6 million for itself in illegal advance fees. In North Carolina, it is illegal to collect upfront fees for debt settlement services.

Cooper filed a lawsuit in May against the Austin, Texas-based Swift Rock Financial, also known as World Law Group, Derin Scott, the company’s owner, and other subsidiaries. Cooper won a temporary order to stop World Law Group’s debt relief services.

World Law Group allegedly advertised and offered legal services without authorization or proper licensure to practice law in North Carolina.

Collins issued a second preliminary injunction against Global Client Solutions LLC, a company that processes payments on behalf of World Law Group. The order bans Global Client Solutions from disbursing money from North Carolinians to World Law Group as fees.