CFPB Bans Student Loan Pro and Owner for Fee Harvesting Scheme

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.

The Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits sellers and telemarketers from requesting or receiving advance fees for any debt-relief service before renegotiating, settling, reducing, or otherwise altering the terms of at least one of a consumer's debts, and before a consumer has made at least one payment on such altered debt. Student Loan Pro's advance-fee violations cost approximately 3,300 consumers nearly $3.5 million in advance fees.

Enforcement Action

Under the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the CFPB has the authority to take action against institutions violating consumer financial protection laws, including the Telemarketing Sales Rule. If entered by the court, the stipulated judgment would:

• Ban Student Loan Pro and Noh from providing consumer financial products: Student Loan Pro and Noh would be barred from offering debt relief services or any other consumer financial products or services. They also would be barred from doing business with Gilani or permitting Gilani to use their bank accounts.
• Dissolve the company: Noh would be required to dissolve both Student Loan Pro and FNZA Marketing, LLC, which is also owned by Noh.
• Pay a civil penalty: The settlement would impose a civil money penalty of $2,000 because of the defendants' demonstrated inability to pay more.

The proposed stipulated judgment filed today would resolve the CFPB's claims against Student Loan Pro and Noh. The CFPB's lawsuit against Gilani remains pending.

Read today's proposed stipulated judgment and order.

The CFPB has resources for student loan borrowers needing more information. Consumers can also submit complaints about financial products and services by visiting the CFPB's website or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

Employees who believe their company has violated federal consumer financial protection laws are encouraged to send information about what they know to [email protected]. To learn more about reporting potential industry misconduct, visit the CFPB's website.