It looks as if the end of the road has been reached for Consumer Advocacy Center and the associated entities: Premier Student Loan Center, True Count Staffing, SL Account Management, Prime Consulting, Financial Preparation Services, TAS 2019, Trusted Account Services, Horizon Consultants, First Priority, Priority Account Management, Albert Kim, Kaine Wen, Kaine Wen 2017 Trust, Tuong Nguyen, Infinite Management Corp, Infinite Management Solutions, Hold the Door, TN Accounting, Mice and Men LLC, Sarah Kim, 1st Generation Holdings, Anan Enterprise, Judy Dai, Judy Dai 2017 Trust.
In 2019 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the states of Minnesota, North Carolina, and California filed suit against the company. You can see past posts here.
Subsequent complaints were filed as they were amended in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
It now appears that TAS 2019 LLC which was part of this effort has agreed to enter into a stipulated final judgment in this matter.
Recent court documents state:
The corporate defendants in this case also include “True Count Staffing, Prime Consulting LLC, TAS 2019 LLC, Horizon Consultants LLC, First Priority LLC, South Coast Financial Center, Direct Account Services, Financial Loan Advisors, Account Preparation Services, Administrative Financial, Tangible Savings Solutions, Coastal Shores Financial Group, First Choice Financial Centre, First Choice Financial Center, Administrative Account Services, Primary Account Solutions, Prime Document Services, Financial Accounting Center, Doc Management Solutions, ALW Loans, Administrative Accounting Center, Best Choice Financial Center, First Document Services, Global Direct Accounting Solutions, Keystone Document Center, Pacific Palm Financial Group, Pacific Shores Advisory, Sequoia Account Management, Signature Loan Solutions, Yellowstone Account Services, ClearStudentLoanDebt, Clear Student Loan Debt, Trusted Account Services, Premier Student Loan Center, and Priority Account Management.”
Additional individual defendants include “Albert Kim, a/k/a Albert King; Kaine Wen, a/k/a Wenting Kaine Dai, Wen-Ting Dai, Wen Ting Dai, Kaine Dai, and Kaine Wen Dai, in his individual capacity and as trustee of the Kaine Wen 2017 Trust; and Tuong Nguyen, a/k/a Tom Nelson.”
The settling defendant agrees to a permanent ban on telemarketing or selling debt-relief services.
“A judgment for monetary relief is entered in favor of Plaintiffs and against Settling Defendant. Settling Defendant is liable, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2,866,314.24, for the purpose of providing redress to Affected Consumers.”
The company has 14 days to make the payment.
They have also agreed to cooperate with the CFPB and others to provide information on any remaining party in the case. The court document says, “Settling Defendant must cooperate fully with Plaintiffs in this matter and in any investigation or litigation related to or associated with the conduct described in the Third Amended Complaint, including related to the Bankruptcy Proceeding. Settling Defendant must provide truthful and complete information, evidence, and testimony. Settling Defendant must cause its officers, employees, representatives, or agents to appear for interviews, discovery, hearings, trials, and any other proceedings that any Plaintiff may reasonably request upon 10 days written notice, or other reasonable notice, at such places and times as Plaintiff may designate, without the service of compulsory process.”
To read this and other documents in this case, click here and to read the document I reviewed, click here.