JPMorgan Chase will pay $136 million to settle charges that it used illegal tactics to go after delinquent credit card borrowers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Wednesday.
The CFPB alleged the bank illegally relied on robo-signing — signing mass quantities of documents without verifying the data in those accounts — and provided inaccurate information to third-party debt collectors when it sold the accounts. The bureau also said that Chase filed misleading lawsuits using inaccurate information to obtain debt collection judgments on accounts that were paid off, discharged in bankruptcy or were otherwise uncollectible.
“Chase sold bad credit card debt and robo-signed documents in violation of law,” said CFPB director Richard Cordray.
Under the terms of the agreement, JPMorgan Chase will refund at least $50 million to affected consumers and pay $136 million in fines to the bureau, 47 states and District of Columbia. The bank will permanently halt collecting on 528,000 accounts.
In Colorado, Chase will issue refunds to more than 3,000 customers. The state attorney general’s office will receive $1.2 million to reimburse costs incurred while participating in the case.
