CFPB/Access Funding Lawsuit Continues

Last month, on July 12, 2021, in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Access Funding, LLC, et al, (Case No. 16-3759, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland) Judge Ellen Hollander denied a motion to dismiss the amended complaint and a motion for a judgment on the pleadings. The amended complaint filed in 2017 against Access Funding, LLC, Access Holding, LLC, Lee Jundanian (former CEO of Access Funding), Raffi Boghosian, COO of Access Funding, Michael Borkowski, CEO of Access Funding, and Charles Smith, Esq., an advisor for Access Funding alleged that the defendants employed abusive practices when purchasing structured settlements from consumers in exchange for lump-sum payments.  The case was stayed for several years pending the Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, __ U.S.__, 140 S. Ct. 2183 (2020). In her July 12th memorandum opinion, Judge Hollander found that while Seila Law was not binding, the facts in that case were similar to the Access Funding case. As such, she denied defendants motion and the CFPB’s enforcement action against Access Funding, Jundanian, Boghosian, Borkowski, and Smith will continue.