WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission is reporting it has put a stop to the operators of a scheme that it says tricked financially strapped consumers seeking student loan relief into paying hundreds of dollars in junk fees.
According to the FTC, the operators often targeted Spanish-speaking consumers in Puerto Rico, pretended to be affiliated with the Department of Education and its loan servicers, and made false promises of low, permanently fixed monthly payments and loan forgiveness.
Assets Frozen
A federal court temporarily halted the scheme and froze its assetsat the request of the FTC, which seeks to end the unlawful practices and secure redress for the thousands of consumers who have been harmed, the FTC said.
According to the FTC’s complaint, since at least April 2019, Florida-based Start Connecting LLC and Colombia-based Start Connecting SAS (collectively doing business as USA Student Debt Relief (USASDR)and their owners and operators Douglas Goodman, Doris Gallon-Goodman, and Juan Rojas have “enticed” consumers by falsely suggesting an affiliation with the government or its student loan servicers.
Additional Allegations
The FTC further alleged that USASDR also falsely promised to enroll consumers in programs that guarantee permanent low, fixed monthly payments—as low as $9 per month—followed by generous lump-sum loan forgiveness of the remaining balance.
“In exchange for enrollment, the operators have charged consumers illegal advance fees of several hundred dollars followed by monthly fees of as much as $29,” the FTC said. “Although USASDR claimed it would apply consumers’ monthly payments to their loan balances, in reality USASDR’s operators pocketed consumers’ hard-earned money and offshored much of the funds to Colombia.”
According to the FTC complaint, USASDR “falsely marketed” its services with fake testimonials and reviews on its website and social media pages, as well as on third-party consumer review platforms like those hosted by the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot.
Example Shared
“For example, USASDR posted testimonials to its Instagram and Facebook pages that falsely appeared to recount real consumers’ positive experiences with the company. One such testimonial posted on August 19, 2022 purported to recount the experience of ‘Ana Rojas’ and falsely claimed that USASDR had reduced her loan payments from $1,300 per month for 28 years to only $417 per month for eight years,” the FTC said.