The New York Times reports that members of a special team at the Education Department that had been investigating widespread abuses by for-profit colleges have been marginalized, reassigned or instructed to focus on other matters, according to current and former employees. The unwinding of the team has effectively killed investigations into possibly fraudulent activities at […]
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Federal consumer watchdog plays down changes to its student protection unit From the Washington Post: A federal consumer watchdog Thursday played down controversial plans to fold the student arm of the agency into another office, following the leak of a memo outlining the move. Mulvaney sent a memo Wednesday informing staffers of a reorganization that […]
The Sixth Circuit today decided Health One Medical Center v. Mohawk, a mighty strange case under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the federal anti-junk-fax statute). The first paragraph of Judge Kethledge's opinion sums it up: Some questions seem to arise only in class-action lawsuits. Here, a seller of prescription drugs sent junk faxes to various medical […]
by Jeff Sovern It sounds like the House will vote on, and presumably pass, the Senate bill as is. In return, the Senate will take up certain as-yet-unidentified House bills that passed by a margin of at least two-thirds, meaning that at least some Democrats voted for them. It's not clear, but it looks like […]
American Banker reports that the "White House is dragging out the nomination of a permanent director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure that acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney calls the shots at the agency until the end of the year or longer." President Trump is expected to name J. Mark McWatters, the chairman […]
Eight of the 10 financial institutions that are the subjects of the most complaints in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau public database contributed to acting Director Mick Mulvaney while he was in Congress, according to an analysis published today by Public Citizen. Since 2012, the CFPB has maintained the publicly available database of consumer complaints […]
The Wall Street Journal reports: "Wells Fargo said Friday it reached a $480 million preliminary settlement agreement in a securities fraud class-action suit. The settlement comes at a difficult time for Wells Fargo, which is dealing with multiple investigations and settlements. The problems kicked off in September 2016 when its sales-practices scandal erupted, and the […]
by Jeff Sovern It remains unclear whether the House would simply pass the Senate bill (which seems more likely after recent remarks by House Financial Services Chair Hensarling) or whether the two chambers will negotiate changes, but Reuters reports here that House majority leader McCarthy has said the House vote could come this month. The […]
The Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration today jointly issued 13 warning letters to manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for selling e-liquids used in e-cigarettes with labeling and/or advertising that resemble kid-friendly food products, such as juice boxes, candies, or cookies, some of them with cartoon-like imagery. Several of the companies receiving warning […]
by Jeff Sovern On April 18, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on Robocalls. Among the witnesses was Adrian Abramovich, against whom the FCC has filed a forfeiture proceeding in which it seeks a penalty of $120 million. Abramavich, who testified under subpoena, commented that when he receives robocalls, he declines them or doesn't […]