CFPB-PR-241204-2 (12-04-24)
CFPB Bans Student Loan Pro and Owner for Fee Harvesting Scheme – Company unlawfully charged upfront fees to borrowers for accessing free debt relief programs
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action to permanently ban Student Loan Pro and Judith Noh, its owner, from offering or providing consumer financial products. The CFPB alleges that Student Loan Pro and Noh violated federal law by charging borrowers upfront fees to file paperwork on their behalf to access free debt-relief programs available to consumers with federal student loans. The CFPB’s stipulated judgment, if entered by the court, would also require Noh to take steps to dissolve Student Loan Pro and a related business, FNZA Marketing, LLC, and pay a civil money penalty.
Student Loan Pro is a California sole proprietorship formed in 2015 by Noh that telemarketed debt-relief services for consumers with federal student loan debt. The CFPB filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging that Student Loan Pro, Noh, and Syed Gilani—Student Loan Pro’s manager and owner-in-fact—violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule by requesting and receiving advance fees, initially running as high as $795, for its debt-relief services. The company’s services included filing paperwork on consumers’ behalf to apply for programs that were already available to borrowers for free from the United States Department of Education.
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CFPB-PR-241204-2 (12-04-24)