CFPB Fintech Regulatory Litigation
Wise US Inc.
CFPB
May 15, 2025
On May 15, 2025, Wise and the Bureau agreed upon a modified Amended Consent Order in accordance with 12 U.S.C. § 5563(b)(3), which supersedes the prior Consent Order. The Amended Consent Order requires Wise to take measures to ensure future compliance, provide approximately $450,000 for consumer redress, and pay a $44,955 civil money penalty.
Equifax, Inc.
CFPB
January 17, 2025
The CFPB took action against Equifax for its failure to conduct proper investigations of consumer disputes. The CFPB found Equifax ignored consumer documents and evidence submitted with disputes, allowed previously deleted inaccuracies to be reinserted into credit reports, provided confusing and conflicting letters to consumers about the results of its investigations, and used flawed software code which led to inaccurate consumer credit scores. Equifax must pay a $15 million civil money penalty, which will be deposited into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corporation
CFPB
January 17, 2025
The CFPB alleges that, from 2019 through 2021, Draper engaged in redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the greater Chicago and Boston areas, resulting in it significantly underperforming its peers in lending activity to these areas. Draper discouraged mortgage applicants from making or pursuing an application for credit on the basis of race, color, and national origin, violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B.
Block Inc.
CFPB
January 16, 2025
The CFPB ordered Block, the operator of the peer-to-peer payments app Cash App, to refund and pay other redress to consumers up to $120 million and pay a penalty of $55 million into the CFPB’s victims relief fund. Block employed weak security protocols for Cash App and put its users at risk. While Block is required by law to investigate and resolve disputes about unauthorized transactions, the company’s investigations were woefully incomplete. Block directed users - who had suffered financial losses as a result of fraud - to ask their bank to attempt to reverse transactions, which Block would subsequently deny. Block also deployed a range of tactics to suppress Cash App users from seeking help, reducing its own costs.
“Cash App created the conditions for fraud to proliferate on its popular payment platform,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “When things went wrong, Cash App flouted its responsibilities and even burdened local banks with problems that the company caused.”
Climb Credit, Inc.
CFPB
October, 17 2024
The CFPB sued student lender Climb Credit, and its largest shareholder 1/0 (“one zero”), for inducing students to take out loans by misrepresenting the quality of the training programs at their partner schools and making false claims about graduates’ hiring rates and salaries. The lawsuit alleges Climb Credit and 1/0 claimed to have vetted its partners’ schools for “outcomes and value” but in fact offered loans for programs that had failed the defendants’ own return-on-investment analysis or which they had not analyzed at all. The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants failed to properly disclose annual percentage rates in online marketing materials and illegally hid loan origination fees in disclosures. The CFPB is asking the court to order Climb Credit and 1/0 to stop their illegal practices, compensate the borrowers they harmed, and pay a civil penalty to the CFPB’s victim relief fund.
“Climb Credit used false promises and outright lies to lure borrowers into loans for vocational programs,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Tens of thousands of students may have been impacted by Climb’s actions, and the CFPB is suing Climb and its investor overlord to halt these activities and get relief for students.”
Ejudicate, Inc., d/b/a Brief
CFPB
October 10, 2024
CFPB banned private dispute resolution platform Ejudicate from arbitrating disputes about consumer financial products after the company misled student borrowers about its neutrality and initiated sham arbitration proceedings. Ejudicate initiated those proceedings for the company Prehired, which was permanently shut down in 2023 by the CFPB and several state attorneys general for its illegal lending practices. Ejudicate acted as a service provider to Prehired by providing these sham arbitration services. The CFPB found that Ejudicate treated borrowers unfairly and was not truthful about its role while hiding that its financial interests were aligned with Prehired.
“Ejudicate ran bogus arbitration proceedings, deceived borrowers, and hid its financial conflicts of interest,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Arbitration outfits cannot rig the process against consumers to enrich their corporate clients.”
Reliant Holdings, Inc. d/b/a Horizon Card Services; and Robert Kane
CFPB
September 13, 2024
CFPB sued Horizon Card Services and its CEO Robert Kane for tricking consumers into signing up for its expensive membership credit card. Horizon’s credit card, which could come with almost $300 in annual fees on a card with a $500 credit limit, could only be used to purchase goods from the company’s overpriced online store and nowhere else. The CFPB alleges Horizon and Kane lured consumers into the membership program through deceptive marketing. Horizon charged consumers illegal and excessive fees, and also made it unreasonably difficult for consumers to cancel memberships and obtain refunds. The CFPB is asking the court to end Horizon and Kane’s illegal conduct, and to order them to pay a fine and redress to consumers.
“The CFPB is suing Horizon and its CEO Robert Kane for gouging low-income Americans and making it nearly impossible to cancel for a full refund,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The CFPB will continue to closely scrutinize illegal fee harvesting and price gouging, and hold individual financial executives accountable for their role in wrongdoing.”
New Day Financial, LLC
CFPB
August 29, 2024
CFPB took action against repeat offender New Day Financial (NewDay USA) for deceiving active duty servicemembers and veterans seeking cash-out refinance loans. The CFPB found that NewDay USA gave misleading and incomplete cost comparisons to borrowers refinancing in North Carolina, Maine, and Minnesota, which made the company’s loans appear less expensive relative to their existing mortgages. The CFPB is ordering NewDay USA to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
“NewDay USA baited veterans and military families into cash-out refinance mortgages by hiding the true costs of these loans,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “NewDay USA’s misconduct has no place in the VA home loan program.”
Chime Financial, Inc.
CFPB
May 7, 2024
CFPB) took action against Chime Financial for failing to give consumers timely refunds when their accounts were closed. Thousands of consumers waited for weeks or even months for balance refunds after closing their accounts - a failure that inflicted significant financial harm on consumers who did not have access to critical funds to help make ends meet. In some cases, consumers had to seek expensive forms of credit to cover bills that were due. The CFPB’s order requires Chime to provide at least $1.3 million in redress to consumers it harmed, and pay a $3.25 million penalty into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
“Chime’s customers had to wait weeks or months for access to their own money and were forced to use alternative funds to cover their essential expenses,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Fast-growing financial firms must treat their customers fairly and understand that federal law is not a suggestion.”
Chime, Inc. d/b/a Sendwave
CFPB
October 17, 2023
CFPB took action against Chime Inc. for deceiving consumers about the speed and cost of remittance transfers through its mobile app, Sendwave. Chime also illegally forced consumers to waive their legal rights, failed to provide consumers with legally required disclosures and receipts, and failed to properly investigate consumer disputes and errors. The CFPB is ordering Chime to refund affected consumers nearly $1.5 million in fees and pay a $1.5 million penalty into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
“Sendwave put illegal fine print into their contracts and tricked people who were sending money to their family overseas,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The CFPB is carefully watching companies launching mobile payment transfer apps seeking to gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors.”
Snap Finance LLC
CFPB
July 19, 2023
CFPB sued lease-to-own finance company Snap Finance for deceiving consumers, obscuring the terms of its financing agreements, and making false threats. In a lawsuit filed in federal district court, the CFPB alleges that Snap Finance has offered and provided millions of “lease-purchase” and “rental-purchase” financing agreements in ways that have harmed consumers, including through misleading advertisements, insufficient disclosures, and interfering with consumers’ ability to understand the terms and conditions of its financing agreements. The CFPB further alleges Snap Finance’s illegal conduct continued in its servicing of those agreements, including misrepresenting consumers’ payment obligations and making false threats in collections.
“Snap Finance illegally obscured terms and conditions of their so-called 'rental purchase agreements,' which led to exorbitant charges,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “To ensure fair competition and to protect the public, the CFPB is carefully watching lending outfits operating outside of the traditional banking system.”
Hello Digit, LLC
CFPB
August 10, 2023
CFPB is taking action against Hello Digit, LLC, a financial technology company that used a faulty algorithm that caused overdrafts and overdraft penalties for customers. Hello Digit was meant to save people money, but instead the company falsely guaranteed no overdrafts with its product, broke its promises to make amends on its mistakes, and pocketed a portion of the interest that should have gone to consumers. Today’s order requires Hello Digit to pay redress to its harmed customers. It also fines the company $2.7 million for its actions.
“Hello Digit positioned itself as a savings tool for consumers having trouble saving on their own. But instead, consumers ended up paying unnecessary overdraft fees,” said Rohit Chopra. “Companies have long been held to account when they engage in faulty advertising, and regulators must do the same when it comes to faulty algorithms.”
MoneyLion Technologies Inc.
CFPB
September 29, 2022
CFPB sued MoneyLion Technologies, an online lender, and 38 of its subsidiaries, for imposing illegal and excessive charges on servicemembers and their dependents. The CFPB alleges that MoneyLion violated the Military Lending Act by charging more than the legally allowable 36% rate cap on loans to servicemembers and their dependents, through a combination of stated interest rates and monthly membership fees. The CFPB also alleges MoneyLion required customers to join a membership program to access certain “low-APR” loans, and then did not allow them to cancel their memberships until their loans were paid. This is the CFPB’s fourth enforcement action related to the Military Lending Act in the past two years.
“MoneyLion targeted military families by illegally extracting fees and making it difficult to cancel monthly subscriptions,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Companies are breaking the law when they require monthly membership fees to obtain loans and then create barriers to canceling those memberships.”
Fintech Regulatory Actions
Wise US Inc.
On May 15, 2025, Wise and the Bureau agreed upon a modified Amended Consent Order in accordance with 12 U.S.C. § 5563(b)(3), which supersedes the prior Consent Order. The Amended Consent Order requires Wise to take measures to ensure future compliance, provide approximately $450,000 for consumer redress, and pay a $44,955 civil money penalty.
Feature Title
Share your feature information here to attract new clients. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background.
Feature Title
Share your feature information here to attract new clients. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background.
FTC Fintech Regulatory Litigation
Voyager Digital, LLC., et al., FTC v.
Last Updated May 22, 2025
The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with bankrupt crypto company Voyager that will permanently ban it from handling consumers’ assets and is filing suit against its former CEO, Stephen Ehrlich, for falsely claiming that customers’ accounts were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and were “safe,” even as the company was approaching an eventual bankruptcy. The complaint also names Stephen Ehrlich’s wife, Francine Ehrlich, as a relief defendant.
In the federal court complaint, the FTC charges that from at least 2018 until it declared bankruptcy in July 2022, Voyager used promises that consumers’ deposits would be “safe” to entice them to hand over their funds. When the company failed, consumers lost access to significant assets they had saved, including ongoing salary deposits, college tuition funds, and down payments for homes, according to the complaint, which notes that consumers were locked out of their cash accounts for more than a month and lost more than $1 billion in crypto assets.
GoDaddy Inc., et al., In the Matter of
Last Updated May 21, 2025
Handy Technologies
FTC
Last Updated January 7, 2025
The Federal Trade Commission, along with the New York Attorney General, are taking action against gig economy company Handy Technologies for making a broad array of deceptive claims about how much money workers on its platform could earn.
The complaint charges that Handy, which currently does business as Angi Services, has peppered its advertisements with earnings claims that don’t reflect the reality for the overwhelming majority of workers on the platform. The complaint also charges that Handy has failed to clearly disclose fees and fines that have led to millions of dollars being withheld from workers.
Sitejabber
FTC
Last Updated January 3, 2025
In a complaint issued in November 2024, the FTC charged that Sitejabber deceived consumers by misrepresenting that ratings and reviews it published came from customers who experienced the reviewed product or service, artificially inflating average ratings and review counts. Under a proposed order settling the agency’s complaint, Sitejabber will be prohibited from making such misrepresentations and from making other misrepresentations about consumer ratings or reviews. The Commission approved the consent as final in January 2025.
Gravy Analytics, Inc., In the Matter of
FTC
January 14, 2025
FTC alleged that Gravy and Venntel violated the FTC Act by unfairly selling sensitive consumer location data, and by collecting and using consumers’ location data without obtaining verifiable user consent for commercial and government uses. The complaint alleged that Gravy Analytics used geofencing, which creates a virtual geographical boundary, to identify and sell lists of consumers who visited healthcare facilities and places of worship and sold additional lists that associate individual consumers to other sensitive characteristics.
Under the final order, Gravy Analytics and Venntel will be prohibited from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data except in limited circumstances involving national security or law enforcement. The companies must also establish a sensitive data location program.
“Climb Credit used false promises and outright lies to lure borrowers into loans for vocational programs,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Tens of thousands of students may have been impacted by Climb’s actions, and the CFPB is suing Climb and its investor overlord to halt these activities and get relief for students.”
Doxo
FTC
Last Updated April 25, 2024
The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against bill payment company Doxo and two of its co-founders, charging that the company uses misleading search ads to impersonate consumers’ billers and deceptive design practices to mislead consumers about millions of dollars in junk fees they tacked on to consumers’ bills.
The complaint alleges that Doxo, its CEO and co-founder Steve Shivers, and its vice president and co-founder Roger Parks, have known from years of internal surveys and complaints from tens of thousands of consumers and hundreds of billers of the harms their business model caused consumers and have still failed to correct their unlawful actions.
Reliant Holdings, Inc. d/b/a Horizon Card Services; and Robert Kane
CFPB
September 13, 2024
CFPB sued Horizon Card Services and its CEO Robert Kane for tricking consumers into signing up for its expensive membership credit card. Horizon’s credit card, which could come with almost $300 in annual fees on a card with a $500 credit limit, could only be used to purchase goods from the company’s overpriced online store and nowhere else. The CFPB alleges Horizon and Kane lured consumers into the membership program through deceptive marketing. Horizon charged consumers illegal and excessive fees, and also made it unreasonably difficult for consumers to cancel memberships and obtain refunds. The CFPB is asking the court to end Horizon and Kane’s illegal conduct, and to order them to pay a fine and redress to consumers.
“The CFPB is suing Horizon and its CEO Robert Kane for gouging low-income Americans and making it nearly impossible to cancel for a full refund,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The CFPB will continue to closely scrutinize illegal fee harvesting and price gouging, and hold individual financial executives accountable for their role in wrongdoing.”
New Day Financial, LLC
CFPB
August 29, 2024
CFPB took action against repeat offender New Day Financial (NewDay USA) for deceiving active duty servicemembers and veterans seeking cash-out refinance loans. The CFPB found that NewDay USA gave misleading and incomplete cost comparisons to borrowers refinancing in North Carolina, Maine, and Minnesota, which made the company’s loans appear less expensive relative to their existing mortgages. The CFPB is ordering NewDay USA to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
“NewDay USA baited veterans and military families into cash-out refinance mortgages by hiding the true costs of these loans,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “NewDay USA’s misconduct has no place in the VA home loan program.”
Chime Financial, Inc.
CFPB
May 7, 2024
CFPB) took action against Chime Financial for failing to give consumers timely refunds when their accounts were closed. Thousands of consumers waited for weeks or even months for balance refunds after closing their accounts - a failure that inflicted significant financial harm on consumers who did not have access to critical funds to help make ends meet. In some cases, consumers had to seek expensive forms of credit to cover bills that were due. The CFPB’s order requires Chime to provide at least $1.3 million in redress to consumers it harmed, and pay a $3.25 million penalty into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
“Chime’s customers had to wait weeks or months for access to their own money and were forced to use alternative funds to cover their essential expenses,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Fast-growing financial firms must treat their customers fairly and understand that federal law is not a suggestion.”
Chime, Inc. d/b/a Sendwave
CFPB
October 17, 2023
CFPB took action against Chime Inc. for deceiving consumers about the speed and cost of remittance transfers through its mobile app, Sendwave. Chime also illegally forced consumers to waive their legal rights, failed to provide consumers with legally required disclosures and receipts, and failed to properly investigate consumer disputes and errors. The CFPB is ordering Chime to refund affected consumers nearly $1.5 million in fees and pay a $1.5 million penalty into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
“Sendwave put illegal fine print into their contracts and tricked people who were sending money to their family overseas,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The CFPB is carefully watching companies launching mobile payment transfer apps seeking to gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors.”
Snap Finance LLC
CFPB
July 19, 2023
CFPB sued lease-to-own finance company Snap Finance for deceiving consumers, obscuring the terms of its financing agreements, and making false threats. In a lawsuit filed in federal district court, the CFPB alleges that Snap Finance has offered and provided millions of “lease-purchase” and “rental-purchase” financing agreements in ways that have harmed consumers, including through misleading advertisements, insufficient disclosures, and interfering with consumers’ ability to understand the terms and conditions of its financing agreements. The CFPB further alleges Snap Finance’s illegal conduct continued in its servicing of those agreements, including misrepresenting consumers’ payment obligations and making false threats in collections.
“Snap Finance illegally obscured terms and conditions of their so-called 'rental purchase agreements,' which led to exorbitant charges,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “To ensure fair competition and to protect the public, the CFPB is carefully watching lending outfits operating outside of the traditional banking system.”
Hello Digit, LLC
CFPB
August 10, 2023
CFPB is taking action against Hello Digit, LLC, a financial technology company that used a faulty algorithm that caused overdrafts and overdraft penalties for customers. Hello Digit was meant to save people money, but instead the company falsely guaranteed no overdrafts with its product, broke its promises to make amends on its mistakes, and pocketed a portion of the interest that should have gone to consumers. Today’s order requires Hello Digit to pay redress to its harmed customers. It also fines the company $2.7 million for its actions.
“Hello Digit positioned itself as a savings tool for consumers having trouble saving on their own. But instead, consumers ended up paying unnecessary overdraft fees,” said Rohit Chopra. “Companies have long been held to account when they engage in faulty advertising, and regulators must do the same when it comes to faulty algorithms.”
MoneyLion Technologies Inc.
CFPB
September 29, 2022
CFPB sued MoneyLion Technologies, an online lender, and 38 of its subsidiaries, for imposing illegal and excessive charges on servicemembers and their dependents. The CFPB alleges that MoneyLion violated the Military Lending Act by charging more than the legally allowable 36% rate cap on loans to servicemembers and their dependents, through a combination of stated interest rates and monthly membership fees. The CFPB also alleges MoneyLion required customers to join a membership program to access certain “low-APR” loans, and then did not allow them to cancel their memberships until their loans were paid. This is the CFPB’s fourth enforcement action related to the Military Lending Act in the past two years.
“MoneyLion targeted military families by illegally extracting fees and making it difficult to cancel monthly subscriptions,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Companies are breaking the law when they require monthly membership fees to obtain loans and then create barriers to canceling those memberships.”
Fintech Regulatory Litigation Tracker
See how regulators are targeting fintechs in real time