CFPB Proposes Settlement with Debt Collectors

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) along with the New York Attorney General (AG) proposed settlements with several debt collectors that were allegedly in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and New York state laws related to consumer debt.  

The defendants include Douglas MacKinnon, Northern Resolution Group, LLC, Enhanced Acquisitions, LLC, Delray Capital, LLC, and Mark Gray. The proposed settlement would ban MacKinnon, Northern Resolution Group, and Enhanced Acquisitions from the debt collection industry, and force them to pay a fine of $60 million. Of that, $40 million would go directly to consumers.

Delray Capital and Gray would also be banned from the industry. In addition, “the order would impose a judgment for redress of $4 million, a judgment for civil money penalties of $1 million to the Bureau, and a judgment for civil money penalties of $1 million to the New York Attorney General.” However, those penalties would be suspended if Delray Capital and Gray pay a $1 civil penalty and provide $10,000 for consumer redress. 

“Not only did the defendants force consumers to pay more than they owed, but they falsely threatened to have consumers arrested for not complying with these predatory practices,” said New York AG Letitia James. “This settlement demonstrates our commitment to protecting consumers, and I thank the CFPB for their partnership to stop this exploitative scheme.”