RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced an extended court order Friday against one of the biggest debt settlement firms in the U.S. that will keep the company from collecting money.
Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins signed a preliminary injunction to extend an order to bar World Law Group from offering debt settlement services in the state. The order bars World Law Group from entering into contracts or collecting any fees from North Carolinians.
"Too often, consumers pay for debt relief that not only doesn't work, but gets them even further behind on their bills," Cooper said. "We fought for a strong state law against advance fee debt relief schemes and we're continuing to use it to crack down on violators."
Cooper filed a lawsuit in May against the Austin, Texas-based Swift Rock Financial, also known as World Law Group, Derin Scott, the company's owner, and other subsidiaries. Cooper won a temporary order to stop World Law Group's debt relief services.
World Law Group allegedly collected at least $4.1 million for debt settlement services in North Carolina since 2010. The firm allegedly used only $527,000 to pay creditors and took $2.6 million for itself in illegal advance fees. In North Carolina, it is illegal to collect upfront fees for debt settlement services.
World Law Group also allegedly advertised and offered legal services without authorization or proper licensure to practice law in North Carolina.
Collins issued a second preliminary injunction against Global Client Solutions LLC, a company that processes payments on behalf of World Law Group. The order bans Global Client Solutions from disbursing money from North Carolinians to World Law Group as fees.
N.C. AG announces extended order against debt settlement firm
