FTC Mails $5.4M To Victims Of Student Loan Debt Relief Scam

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it is mailing out more than $5.4 million in compensation to nearly 40,000 people who paid fees to EZ Doc Preps for services to help them relieve student debt.

The checks are worth an average of $136.48.

According to the FTC, customers paid up to $1,000 for debt relief help from EZ Doc Preps, and received no help.

Allegedly, the company told customers that it was affiliated with the Department of Education or loan services, though this was not true.

The FTC says that the deception continued when the company told customers that they could be eligible for reduced monthly payments or loan forgiveness if they paid $1,000 upfront.

The refund checks are being sent out as part of a settlement between EZ Doc Preps and the FTC reached in 2018.

Complicating matters, the companies in question operated under multiple names, including “Alliance Document Preparation, LLC; EZ Doc Preps; Grads Aid; First Document Aid; SBS Capital Group, LLC; Grads United Discharge; SBB Holdings, LLC; Allied Doc Prep; Post Grad Services; United Legal Center, LLC; Post Grad Aid; Alumni Aid Assistance; United Legal Discharge; United Legal Center, Inc.; Grads Doc Prep, LLC; Academic Aid Center; Academic Protection; Academy Doc Prep; and Academic Discharge,” says that FTC.

Reportedly, the company marketed its fraudulent services on social media, advertising that it could help students provide debt relief from student loans.

In an effort to help individuals not fall prey to debt relief scams, the FTC stresses that the Department of Education’s programs do not require the use of a third-party company or application fee payment.

Through the Department of Education, individuals can reportedly apply for programs including “loan deferments, forbearance, repayment, and forgiveness or discharge programs.”

Instead of going through third parties, individuals can access federal student loan repayment options on StudentAid.gov/repay.

In addition to repayments for consumers, the defendants are “banned permanently from engaging in any type of debt relief activities and from making misrepresentations related to financial or any other products or services.”

The FTC also requires that EZ Doc Preps cooperate with the FTC completely in this case or any investigation related to the issue at hand, including providing “complete informant, evidence, and testimony.”

The FTC advises customers who receive checks to cash them within 60 days as they will expire after that length of time, and notes that questions about the refund checks can be directed to the refund administrator Analytics at 1-877-270-9672.

The FTC also stresses that they never require consumers to provide account information or to pay money to cash a refund check.

Have you paid money to a third party, trying to get student debt relief help? Share your experience in the comment section below.

The EZ Doc Prep Scam Lawsuit is Federal Trade Commission v. Alliance Document Preparation LLC, et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-07048-SJO-KS, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Join a Free Debt Consolidation Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

You may qualify for this investigation if a debt repair company did one of the following:

• Sent unwanted cell phone calls, text messages, robocalls, and or prerecorded messages;
• Sent a loan offer or offered credit, rejected your application, and then pitched their debt program;
• Required payment for credit repair services up front and you were not provided with a full disclosure in writing; and/or
• Promised to help but left you in either the same or worse financial condition.

LEARN MORE

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

FTC Mailing $2.2M To Victims of Pyramid Scheme

J&J Educator Never Saw Baby Powder Cancer Reports, Testimony Reveals

FTC Sends $12M To Victims of Debt Collector and Office Supplies Schemes

Birth Injury Lawsuit Ends in $30 Million Settlement for Family