Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Navient Corporation and Navient Solutions, Inc.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) retained Charles Mullin to provide expert testimony in its lawsuit against Navient Corporation and Navient Solutions, Inc. Navient Solutions, Inc., formerly known as Sallie Mae, Inc., is the largest student loan servicer in the United States. The CFPB alleged that Navient steered these borrowers experiencing financial hardship that was not short-term or temporary into costly payment relief designed for borrowers experiencing short-term financial problems, before or instead of affordable long-term repayment options that were more beneficial to them in light of their financial situation. The CFPB alleged that this and other Navient actions resulted in financial harm to student loan borrowers.
The CFPB settled with Navient, banning it from federal student loan servicing, and ordered the company to pay $120 million for wide-ranging student lending failures (see the CFPB press release).