Seven Repeat Offenders Pardoned by the Trump Administration Have Paid More Than $7 Billion for Their Illegal Activities as a Result of CFPB and Other Regulators’ Enforcement Actions
March 26, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, before a House Financial Services subcommittee lines up industry witnesses to bash the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), consumer advocates released a memo highlighting that Acting Director Russell Vought has doled out seven corporate pardons worth more than $3 billion to Wall Street banks, predatory lenders, and their wealthy executives who have a track record of breaking the law. As the new memo from Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) highlights, these seven pardoned repeat offenders have already paid over $7 billion as a result of CFPB and other regulators’ enforcement actions.
“In the six weeks since it took over the CFPB, the Trump Administration’s main priority has been to dole out corporate pardons to repeat offenders that have ripped Americans off to the tune of billions of dollars,” said Mike Pierce, executive director of SBPC. “At the same time, Trump’s CFPB continues to sideline staff from work that is required by law, including helping student loan borrowers obtain relief, fully investigating consumer complaints, and conducting routine exams of financial institutions. This latest in the string of dropped enforcement cases raises serious questions about how the administration decides who gets a corporate handout.”
“Corporate recidivists who act like they are above the law and continue to cheat and steal from consumers should be punished in a way that ensures they cannot treat enforcement actions as a slap on the wrist,” said Erin Witte, director of consumer protection for CFA. “Trump and Vought continue to prove that they are too afraid of the political consequences of holding big banks and financial institutions accountable, and it is clear they would rather leave Americans exposed to chronic lawbreakers who will keep finding ways to steal people’s money.”
The advocates’ memo identifies repeat offenders1 subject to CFPB enforcement actions that were pending when the Trump Administration took over the CFPB—and includes their rap sheet. The memo also highlights that the Trump-led CFPB has already pardoned repeat offenders Wells Fargo and Bank of America, who hold the record for the highest fines and most enforcement actions from the CFPB. Along with repeat offender JPMorgan Chase, these banks were facing damning evidence that through the popular peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app Zelle, they caused Americans to lose nearly $1 billion due to fraud—until Trump let them off scot-free. This trio of repeat offenders accounts for a significant percentage of the $21 billion the CFPB has forced banks and lenders to return to consumers over its lifetime.
Endnotes
1. Companies or individuals that were named as defendants in prior CFPB enforcement actions or state attorney general enforcement actions for the same pattern of conduct as alleged in the pending or recently dismissed CFPB action.
Background
In recent weeks, Trump leadership at the CFPB has dismissed a slew of enforcement actions totaling billions of dollars in consumer harm, including seven involving corporate repeat offenders. The dismissal of these cases “with prejudice” means the CFPB will never be able to pursue these cases again and Americans will never see relief from a wide range of alleged lawbreaking from these corporate entities. The cases include:
- Early Warning Services (EWS)—the parent company of popular peer-to-peer app Zelle and three of EWS’ owner banks, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase, for causing Americans to lose nearly $1 billion due to fraud
- Banking behemoth Capital One for cheating savings account holders out of $2 billion in interest
- Student loan servicer Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) for illegally collecting on student debt that was discharged in bankruptcy and sending that junk info to credit reporting agencies
- Credit reporting giant TransUnion, and its longtime former executive John Danaher, for violating a 2017 law enforcement order and engaging in deceptive marketing regarding its credit scores and other credit-related products
- Rocket Homes for its illegal mortgage broker kickback scheme
- Vanderbilt for setting manufactured home buyers up to fail with unaffordable loans
- Heights Finance for illegal loan-churning practices that harvested hundreds of millions in loan costs and fees
- Acima and its former chief executive officer Aaron Allred, for illegal lending activities in connection with as many as five million consumer financing agreements
- 1st Alliance Lending and its principals for engaging in various unlawful mortgage-lending practices
- SoLo Funds for deceiving borrowers about the total cost of loans
Further Reading
CFA and SBPC memo detailing 38 enforcement actions abandoned by CFPB leadership: Trump and Vought Desert Consumers and Working Families Amid Violations by Predatory Financial Companies
SBPC reacts to dismissal of predatory student loan case involving giant student loan servicer PHEAA: CFPB Drops Enforcement Action Against Predatory Student Loan Company
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About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.
About Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Federation of America is an association of non-profit consumer organizations that was established in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.
Learn more at consumerfed.org or follow CFA on Twitter at @ConsumerFed.