WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced July 5 that Blue Global Media LLC and CEO Christopher Kay will settle charges of misleading consumers into applying for loans and then selling the applications to virtually anyone who would buy them.
The FTC had alleged the defendants operated multiple websites enticing consumers to complete applications for loans. The defendants then purportedly sold these loan applications to a variety of entities as “leads” without any regard for how the information would be used. The information on these loan applications included sensitive consumer data.
Consumers applied on defendant sites that included 100dayloans.com, 1hour-advance.com, cashmojo.com and clickloans.net. According to the FTC, Blue Global Media would say to consumers that it would search a network of 100 or more lenders and would offer consumers the best loan terms. The company, however, allegedly sold very few of these loan applications to lenders and instead sold the loan applications to the first buyer willing to pay for them.
A $104 million judgment against the defendants has been suspended based on the inability to pay, and the defendants have been barred from misrepresenting their loan assistance services.
The FTC voted 2-0 to authorize the staff to file the complaint, which was then filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.