The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday (Nov. 21) that it filed a suit against Access Funding, alleging an illegal scheme that scammed lead paint poisoning victims.
The watchdog said that Access Funding convinced victims to take the advice of “sham” advisors. Those advisors, said the CFPB, were paid by Access Funding to steer the victims of the poisonings to sign away their settlement payments in order to obtain much smaller lump sum payments, worth only 30 percent of the value of future payments. The suit seeks a halt to the practice and to obtain relief (and impose penalties) on behalf of those consumers.
The settlements are known as structured settlements and set up periodic payments for injuries that are awarded damages.
