The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a motion in its case against Lexington Law, asking the judge to assess $3.1 billion in penalties — in the form of redress to consumers and fines — arguing that is the amount that the defendants “took” from four million consumers.
A copy of the motion in the case of Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection v. Progrexion Marketing et al. can be accessed by clicking here.
The CFPB sued Lexington Law, CreditRepair.com, and a number of other companies back in 2019, accusing them of violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule by engaging in “bait advertising” and requesting or receiving payments up front for credit repair services.
Last month, Judge Bruce S. Jenkins granted a motion filed by the CFPB for partial summary judgment on the count that the defendants had violated a provision of the TSR dating back to 2016. That led the CFPB to file its motion for monetary and injunctive relief. The Bureau is asking the judge to award consumers who paid for Lexington Law’s credit repair services $2.75 billion in restitution, $367 million to consumers who paid for CreditRepair.com’s services, as well as $17 million in civil money penalties for John C. Heath, and $35 million in civil money penalties to the other defendants. The Bureau is also asking for its costs and post-judgment interest to be covered, too.
“Defendants have shown no willingness to comply with the law absent an injunction,” the Bureau wrote in its motion. “Defendants never changed their unlawful billing practices despite the straightforward language of § 310.4(a)(2) and despite notice that a federal agency charged with enforcing the rule considered their practices illegal.”
