On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release announcing that it has shut down a credit card debt relief scheme that falsely promised to eliminate or substantially reduce individuals’ credit card debt.
The FTC states that scheme was operated by Sean Austin, John Steven Huffman and John Preston Thompson through a network of companies that worked together as a common enterprise since at least 2019. These companies are incorporated in Tennessee, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming, and operated under several names including ACRO Services, American Consumer Rights Organization, Consumer Protection Resources, Reliance Solutions, Thacker & Associates and Tri Star Consumer Group.
The press release states that the defendants would charge consumers thousands of dollars in an upfront enrollment fee and falsely promised it was part of the debt that would be eliminated. Additionally, they would charge monthly fees ranging from $20-$35 for “credit monitoring” services. Once signed up for the defendants’ services, consumers were told to stop making payments and communicating with their credit card companies.
The FTC states that the scheme often targeted older Americans and financially distressed consumers promising the defendants could greatly reduce or eliminate consumers’ credit card debt in approximately 12-18 months. Additionally, the scheme’s telemarketers often falsely claimed to be affiliated with a particular credit card association, bank, or credit reporting agency.
However, the FTC states that the services were fraudulent, resulting in no debt relief while taking millions from its participants. Further, the false promises from the scheme often caused the affected consumers to fall deeper into debt with lasting harm to their credit.
On November 21, 2022, the Middle District of Tennessee granted the FTC’s request to temporarily shut down the scheme by issuing a temporary restraining order. In the FTC’s complaint, it alleged that the defendants violated the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud Act.
The press release states that the FTC voted 4-0 to authorize the filing of the complaint. Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated that “[The FTC] will continue going after companies that take advantage of people in financial distress.”
