Victims Relief Funds restores $30,000 to local residents

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Some residents of American Samoa will receive funds from a restoration fund totaling $1.8 billion for illegal advance fees they were charged by a group of credit repair companies.

Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata has announced that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is restoring $30,382 in funds to recipients in American Samoa.

They were charged illegal advance fees or subjected to allegedly deceptive bait-and-switch advertising by a group of credit repair companies including Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com.

Together, these payments are the largest-ever distribution from the CFPB’s victims relief fund, which is funded by civil penalties paid by companies that violate consumer protection laws.

“I appreciate this notification by the CFPB, so I can let any of my constituents who lost money know this restitution is on the way,” said Congresswoman Amata. “For those eligible, the CFPB states that you do not need to take action, as they will send payments to those owed.”

Eligible consumers harmed by Lexington Law, CreditRepair.com, and their parent companies will be sent a payment in the coming weeks. Details about the distribution are available at cfpb.gov/payments/lexlaw. The CFPB has contracted JND Legal Administration to administer payments for this case and answer consumers’ questions.

Eligible consumers do not need to take any action to receive a payment. Checks are being mailed between December and January. Consumers who believe they are eligible, but who have not received a payment by mid-January, can contact JND at www.cfpb-lexlaw.org.

In August 2023, the CFPB secured a legal judgment against the credit repair conglomerate, after a district court ruled that the companies had violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s advance fee prohibition. Under federal law, credit repair companies that engage in telemarketing cannot collect fees until they provide documentation showing they have achieved the promised results for consumers, at least six months after the results were achieved.

Following the district court’s ruling, the companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, shuttering approximately 80 percent of their business operations, including their telemarketing call centers. The CFPB’s $1.8 billion distribution to consumers harmed by the credit repair companies is a result of the agency’s enforcement action.