Former Georgia-based auto-loan servicer USASF ordered to pay $42M after lawsuit
ATLANTA - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) secured a $42 million judgment against USASF Servicing, a Lawrenceville, Georgia-based auto-loan servicer, following allegations of illegal practices.
U.S. District Judge Victoria Calvert of the Northern District of Georgia ordered USASF to pay $25.5 million in compensatory damages, $5.8 million in restitution, $1.2 million in prejudgment interest, and a $10 million civil penalty.
USASF, which operated 31 buy-here pay-here dealerships across the Southeast, has since filed for bankruptcy and closed its dealerships.
The CFPB's August 2023 lawsuit alleged that USASF wrongfully disabled vehicles over 7,500 times and 1,500 times after assuring customers it wouldn’t. The company also allegedly failed to issue GAP refunds, misapplied payments, and illegally repossessed vehicles.
CFPB Auto Finance Senior Program Manager Christopher Kulka reportedly provided calculations to determine penalties, estimating harm per wrongful repossession at $5,000, per erroneous vehicle disablement at $500, and $100 per day for harm caused by erroneous warning tones.
The judgment came as the Federal Trade Commission has announced recent enforcements.