The Attorney General of Pennsylvania has announced the settlement of an enforcement action against a consumer attorney who also provided debt settlement services that took advance fees from consumers and misled them into believing that attorneys were working on their accounts, when in reality they had been transferred to call center representatives.
The Who: Erik M. Helbing, who operated Helbing Law and Consumer Law Relief, which also did business as Helbing Law Group.
The What: The businesses advertised that they could reduce consumers’ debts through negotiation or litigation. In most cases, the business failed to provide these services, even though they took unlawful advance payments from consumers. Consumers also believed that attorneys were working on their accounts.
- Some consumers complained to the Attorney General’s office when the businesses failed to defend collection lawsuits that were filed against the consumers and failed to provide the promised debt relief services.
The Penalty: The businesses have agreed to pay $10,000 in penalties and costs and will pay customers $25,000 in restitution. The AG’s office also noted that the businesses cooperated during the investigation and previously issued $50,000 in refunds to consumers.
- The business are also prohibited from any further violations of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the Debt Settlement Services Act, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
The Last Word: “Impacted consumers were in financial distress and needed a professional they could trust to assist them with debt,” said Pennsylvania AG Michelle Henry in a statement. “Instead, they were scammed by businesses that did not follow through on their promises.”
