WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of alleged scammers have been permanently banned from the debt relief industry and ordered to surrender their assets as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The group had reportedly swindled millions of dollars from unsuspecting students through a fraudulent student loan debt relief scheme.
According to the FTC’s complaint filed in August 2023, Express Enrollment LLC, also known as SLFD Processing, Intercontinental Solutions LLC, which also operated under the name Apex Doc Processing LLC, and their operators Marco Manzi, Ivan Esquivel, and Robert Kissinger have been running the deceptive operation since at least 2019. They falsely claimed affiliation with the U.S. Department of Education and used the term “Biden Loan Forgiveness” to lure students into signing up for nonexistent debt relief services.
The scammers reportedly collected approximately $8.8 million in unnecessary fees from students seeking relief from their loans. They also allegedly exploited these misrepresentations to illicitly obtain consumers’ bank account, debit card, or credit card information, frequently collecting hundreds of dollars in unlawful advance fees. The FTC’s complaint further charges that these practices violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Recent action by a federal court brought a temporary halt to the operations of Apex Processing Center and its owners, following an FTC complaint aimed at ending the deceitful practices. The court also froze the assets of the involved parties pending further proceedings.
The proposed stipulated orders, which still await approval from a federal judge, would ban Express Enrollment LLC, Intercontinental Solutions LLC, Kissinger, and Esquivel from the debt relief industry. The orders would prohibit them from making any false statements about financial products or services, or using deceptive practices to collect consumers’ financial information. The defendants are also required to surrender their personal and business assets as part of the settlement.
The proposed orders impose a monetary judgment of $7.4 million, which is largely suspended due to the defendants’ inability to pay. However, if any of the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial situation, the full amount of the monetary judgment would become immediately payable by that defendant.
Litigation continues against Manzi, the last remaining defendant in the case.
In the wake of this case, the FTC has urged consumers to be vigilant against such scams and has provided resources on how to avoid student loan debt relief scams on its website. The Commission reminds consumers that they can access assistance for their student loans for free at StudentAid.gov.
The Commission votes approving the stipulated final orders were 3-0. The FTC filed the proposed orders in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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