- The FTC settled with SL Finance LLC and its owners, and separately with BCO Consulting Services Inc. and SLA Consulting Services Inc. and their owners, to resolve allegations that the entities and individuals violated the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act through the deceptive marketing and sales of student debt relief services.
- According to the complaints against SL Finance and BCO Consulting and SLA Consulting, the FTC alleges the companies falsely told borrowers that they were affiliated with the federal government and were administering government COVID-19 relief programs in order to secure student debt relief. They allegedly made these false promises in order to collect hundreds of dollars in up-front payments, but then did not seek or deliver on the promised loan forgiveness, loan repayment plans, or reduced loan balances.
- Under the proposed orders, SL Finance and BCO Consulting and SLA Consulting, as well as their owners, are permanently banned from debt relief of any kind. They are also banned from making misrepresentations about financial products or services and from using false statements to collect consumer financial information. Each order also imposes a monetary judgment of approximately $5.8 million, both of which are largely suspended based on the defendants’ inability to pay.