On April 26, 2011, a Harris County jury hit Jubilee Financial Management, LLC, The Credit Card Solution (TCCS), Freedom from Debt Alliance, and Robert M. Lindsey with a $13.8 million verdict. The jury found that these defendants defrauded indebted Texans and failed to register with authorities in violation of state law. According to the State’s enforcement action, the defendants assured customers that they could eliminate their credit card debts and restore credit ratings by filing lawsuits that would allow the defendants to erase their debts and reap thousands of dollars in court-awarded damages from debt collectors; this was false.
According to the Texas Attorney General’s press release, more than 700 people paid an average of $3,000 for the defendants’ fraudulent services. Because the defendants offered nothing of value and charged thousands of dollars for the purported services, already struggling customers were worse off financially after paying the defendants.
After a week-long trial, the jury found that all four defendants violated both the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Texas Credit Services Act. Assistant attorneys Scot Clinton and Rick Berlin represented the State of Texas in the trial. The Office of the Attorney General will continue working to identify and seize assets that will be used to satisfy the jury award.