Credit Repair, Debt Relief, and Food Stamp Scammers in Contempt

The internet is flooded with credit repair and debt relief marketers, promising quick and easy ways to eliminate negative reports and alleviate financial woes. Although not all are fraudulent, many prey on trusting consumers in emotional distress and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”) and other local agencies are determined to stop them. In November of 2012, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division recently found Florida based defendants Kevin Hargrave and Latrese Hargrave in contempt for violating a previous order requiring them to stop promoting bogus credit repair products and services to consumers. The court ordered the defendants to pay $6.4 million to the FTC within 30 days and permanently shut down their credit business, finding that despite a January 2012 order barring the defendants from marketing deceptive credit repair services, the defendants continued to violate the FTC Act and the Credit Repair Organizations Act. As part of the FTC’s continuing crackdown on scams that target consumers in financial distress, in April 2011 the FTC charged Sam Tarad Sky, Allrepco LLC, Credit Restoration Brokers, LLC, and Debt Negotiations Associates, LLC with violating a March 2010 court order resolving charges that they deceptively marketed credit repair and debt relief services and illegally charged an up-front fee for credit repair services.