The Federal Trade Commission, along with 11 states and the
District of Columbia, just announced "Operation Game of Loans." This is
the first coordinated federal-state initiative targeting deceptive
student loan debt relief scams. The nationwide crackdown
encompasses 36 actions by the FTC and state attorneys general against bad
actors that are alleged to have used deception and false promises
of relief to collect more than $95 million in illegal upfront fees
from consumers over a number of years.
The FTC reports that "Operation Game of Loans"
includes seven FTC actions: five new cases, one new judgment in
favor of the FTC, and a preliminary injunction entered in a case
filed earlier this year. In each of these cases, the FTC
alleges that the entities charged consumers illegal upfront fees,
falsely promised to help reduce or forgive student loan debt
burdens, and pretended to be affiliated with the government or loan
servicers, in violation of the FTC's Telemarketing
