The customer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today took action to prevent a student-based loan debt settlement scam that illegally tricked borrowers into spending costs for federal loan benefits and misrepresented to people who it had been connected to the Department of Education. The CFPB is buying the pupil debt settlement business, scholar help Institute, Inc., as well as its executive that is chief officer Steven Lamont, to cover a penalty, halt debt settlement services, and stop charging you affected customers. The CFPB can be forever barring the ongoing business and Lamont through the credit card debt relief industry.
“We see increasingly more businesses and sites demanding big upfront costs to assist education loan borrowers sign up for income-driven plans that are offered 100% free,” stated CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “These methods bear a resemblance that is disturbing the home loan crisis where troubled consumers had been preyed upon with false claims of relief. We are going to continue steadily to turn off unlawful scams and target sloppy servicing methods that victimize customers.”