The Maryland Attorney General announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has issued a Final Order against two individuals and their entities for violating the Consumer Protection Act when they collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from consumers to help them consolidate and pay off outstanding consumer debt, but did not provide the promised services.

The Attorney General said the individuals and their entities “… deceived and defrauded consumers with promises that…(they) would ultimately save consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars, pay off consumers’ outstanding debts in a shorter timeframe than the original loan terms, and improve consumers’ credit scores… instead, they took the money for themselves while consumers had their cars repossessed and their houses threatened with foreclosure.” They charged consumers upfront fees between $11,000 and $118,000 for services, followed by charging additional amounts.”

Before entering into contracts for such services, consumers should verify a provider’s licensing status at https://www.dllr.state.md.us/finance/industry/licsearch.shtml. Additionally, persons who provide mortgage assistance relief services, credit services, money transmission services, and debt management services are generally prohibited from collecting upfront fees. Source: Maryland Attorney General