Consumer Bureau responds to “unconscionable” scamming of 9/11 heroes

9/11 was a dark day for the United States. The heroic actions of our first responders shined through during one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history. Police officers, deputy sheriffs, firefighters, paramedics and rescuers were all first on the scene, ready to assist during this emergency.

While these men and women were putting their lives on the line, New Jersey based firm RD Legal Funding, LLC was scamming 9/11 first responders. The firm offers advances to consumers entitled to payouts from victim compensation funds or lawsuit settlements. They were scamming these heroes “out of money intended to cover medical costs, lost income, and other critical needs.” No one — especially not first responders — should have to deal with scams like this one.

Thankfully, we have a consumer cop on the financial beat, one that is standing up for 9/11 first responders. Just last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and New York Attorney General sued RD Legal for targeting these first responders.

When Congress passed a bill to help 9/11 first responders deal with medical costs, many were forced to wait to receive their compensation. According to the lawsuit, that’s often when RD Legal “swooped in with a ‘deal’,” offering an upfront payment to be repaid when the first responders got their awards.

Due to confusing contracts, when the time came to repay RD Legal, first responders often owed more than twice what they had been advanced in the first place. Overall, the lawsuit claims RD Legal’s actions cost first responders millions. There is simply no world in which we should tolerate this behavior.

This is not the only incident where RD Legal maliciously targeted victims. The company also “allegedly conned National Football League (NFL) concussion victims.” They lured football players with brain injuries into deals where they lost millions of dollars due to settlement payouts with lies about the terms of the deals.

“It is unconscionable that RD Legal scammed 9/11 heroes and NFL concussion victims out of millions of dollars,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “We allege that this company and its owner lined their pockets with funds intended to cover medical care and other critical expenses for people who are sick and sidelined. Our lawsuit seeks to end this illegal scheme and get money back to those entitled to receive it.”

If some Wall Street allies in Congress get their way, the CFPB either won’t have as many resources to enforce commonsense consumer protections, or won’t be around to do so at all. We’re standing up for the Consumer Bureau so we can hold these scammers accountable.