Links in “Fines, Penalties, Suits, and Settlements”

CFPB hits Clarity Services, a subprime reporting agency, with an $8 million consent order for such practices as obtaining consumer reports without permission and failing to look into consumer credit reporting disputes. [12/4/15]

Law firm goes after a Florida credit union arguing that it used an "artificial available balance" instead of an actual balance in deciding whether to charge an overdraft. [12/2/15]

Wells Fargo argued that Los Angeles' city attorney does not have jurisdiction to take the bank to court over its alleged "aggressive sales tactics" that were highlighted in a recent L.A. Times investigation. According to the Wall Street Journal, now the OCC and Fed Reserve are looking into the allegations. The CFPB may not be far behind. [12/2/15]

Theodore Longust, former Business Relationship Manager at the $1 billion Scott Credit Union in Illinois, has been indicted on nine counts of fraud, misapplication of funds, and money laundering involving millions of dollars. This follows on the heels of a lawsuit filed against the credit union and other parties in April by former NFL star David Butz and business partner, Eugene Schill, that claimed consumer fraud and negligence. If convicted Longust could face up to 240 years in prison and restitution of $4.5 million. [11/24/15]

Three credit unions have filed suit in federal court against the city of New York and its Taxi and Limousine Commission for causing deliberate and devastating harm to the taxi medallion industry. Melrose Credit Union, Progressive Credit Union and LOMTO Federal Credit Union claim that the city’s failure to require licensing for companies such as Uber and Lyft constitutes disparate regulatory treatment. [11/23/15]

A California lender was hit with $10 million in borrower restitution and penalties for collecting $202.50 in settlement fees for more than 70,000 borrowers, which exceeded the actual cost of the services by an average of $37.50. The lender had services performed by its employees but were charged by an appraisal affiliate under another name. [11/23/15]

The CFPB announced actions against an online lender, Integrity Advance, LLC, and its CEO for deceiving consumers about the cost of short-term loans in failing to disclose the costs consumers would pay under the default terms of the contracts as well as unfair practices involving the creation of checks used to debit consumers’ bank accounts even after the consumers revoked authorization for automatic withdrawals. The action to file will now go before an independent Administrative Law Judge within the Bureau for ruling. [11/20/15]

The Department of Justice announced three more Swiss Banks (BNP Paribas SA, KBL Ltd. and Bank CIC) reached resolutions under the department’s Swiss Bank Program to pay a combined $81 million in fines, continue to cooperate with the department, but avoid potential criminal liabilities in the United States. [11/20/15]

There is a bit or irony in the news that John Barry, former manager of the Portland Maine Police Department FCU, has pled guilty to embezzling $400,000 from the credit union that serves police employees. Barry stole the funds over a 4-year time frame by transferring funds from credit union accounts to his account and to the accounts of his family members. [11/19/15]

CFPB sues the online payday lender Integrity Advance for not fully disclosing that charges would continue to accrue after a borrower defaulted on a loan and for automatically debiting borrowers' bank accounts even after they stopped authorizing withdrawals. [11/19/15]