WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that Jared Irby, Richard Hughes, Coastal Acquisitions LLC, and PSC Administrative LLC have been banned from the debt collection business after allegations of falsely promising to resolve consumers’ payday loans through their hardship program.
The defendants would allegedly dupe consumers into their programs, have them stop making payments to their lenders but fail to provide the promised debt relief. According to the FTC, this would put the consumers in even more financial trouble – they would pay hundreds of dollars for what amounted to no reduction or settlement of their loans.
Two stipulated final orders were announced, banning the defendants from all debt relief-related activities. They are also barred from making misrepresentations about their product and services.
Each order imposes financial penalties of more than $23.7 million. The judgments will be partially suspended once Irby and the corporate defendants pay $149,537 and Hughes pays $8,037.26.
The FTC voted 3-0 to file the stipulated final orders against Irby, Coastal Acquisitions and PSC Administrative, and against Hughes. The orders were filed Sept. 7 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.