RSSThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking a ban against a California debt company CEO over accusations of wrongful fee-charging practices and deceptive telemarketing.
Daniel Crenshaw is CEO and owner of Performance SLC, a student loan debt relief business, and Performance Settlement, a general debt-settlement company. In a November 2020 lawsuit, the bureau accused Performance SLC and Crenshaw of charging more than 9,000 consumers with federal student-loan debt approximately $10.5 million in illegal upfront fees. Fees ranged from $1,000 to $1,450, which the company charged before its customers had made a payment under their new loan terms. It also failed to provide required disclosures, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleged that Crenshaw and Performance Settlement used deceptive sales tactics to sign certain consumers up for debt-relief services. Around 400 individuals incurred more than $700,000 in collective fees because of Performance Settlement’s deceptive marketing, the bureau said.
If entered by the court, the judgment would ban Crenshaw from debt relief services for five years and require him to pay a $30,000 fee. It would ban Performance Settlement from obtaining referrals from companies purporting to make or arrange loans as well as certain loan-settlement activities. Performance SLC, which ceased operations in 2020, would be permanently banned from debt relief services.
Crenshaw is majority owner of Performance Settlement, which negotiates settlements of unsecured debts for a fee of 25 percent of the debt amount, and is sole owner of Performance SLC, which processes and submits paperwork required for loan consolidation, loan repayment and loan forgiveness programs offered by the U.S. Department of Education.
