Help

BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.

To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.

To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.

Login Register Subscribe

Watchdog, states sue over alleged immigrant services scam

Reprints
Watchdog

(Reuters) — The U.S. consumer watchdog and attorneys general in three states are suing Libre by Nexus for allegedly preying on immigrants in U.S. detention centers by misrepresenting fees for paying bail bonds and threatening borrowers who cannot repay.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and attorneys general in New York, Massachusetts and Virginia have sued Libre by Nexus and its parent company for alleged predatory practices that “bind the immigrants to years of exorbitant monthly payments,” the agency said on Monday.

Mike Donovan, president and chief executive officer of Libre, said in a statement the firm welcomed the chance to defend itself in one courtroom against the multiple states’ inquiries.

Libre by Nexus is committed to servicing its clients and “fighting for immigrants scarred by the torture of ‘civil’ immigration detention,” Mr. Donovan said in his statement.

The firm allegedly lured immigrants with misleading statements and falsely threatened them with potential re-arrest, detention or deportation when they did not make their repayments, the regulators said in a statement.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday against Libre, parent company Nexus Services Inc. and Mr. Donovan and other co-owners Richard Moore and Evan Ajin, seeks to halt the practices and obtain relief for victims. The firm has previously reached settlements with other regulators over its controversial practices.

On Monday, CFPB Acting Director David Uejio in a statement described Libre as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” saying the Bureau is prioritizing the case to send a signal that financial scams targeting communities of color will not be tolerated.

“This case is a prime example of how people of color are targeted in financial scams and the latent inequity that is too often found in the market for financial products and services,” Acting Director Uejio said in the statement. “The Bureau won’t stand for it.”

 

 

 

 

Read Next