FILED 17 FEB 14 AM 10:27 KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT CLERK E-FILED CASE NUMBER: 17-2-03474-6 SEA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 STATE OF WASHINGTON KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 8 9 STATE OF WASHINGTON, Plaintiff, 10 11 12 13 PRIMA PROCESSING SOLUTIONS, LLC d/b/a SIMPLE STUDENT LOAN SOLUTIONS, Defendant. I. 15 17 CONSENT DECREE v. 14 16 NO. JUDGMENT SUMMARY 1.1 Judgment Creditor State of Washington 1.2 Judgment Debtor Prima Processing Solutions, LLC d/b/a Simple Student Loan Solutions 1.3 Principal Judgment Amount $32,670.02 1.4 Post Judgment Interest Rate: 12 percent per annum 1.5 Attorneys for Judgment Creditor: John Nelson and Benjamin Roesch, Assistant Attorneys General 1.6 Attorneys for Judgment Debtor: Jacob R. Brennan Lukins & Annis, P.S. 1.7 Plaintiff State of Washington (Washington), having conducted an investigation 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 and commenced this action pursuant to RCW 19.86, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and 26 RCW 18.28, the Debt Adjusting Act (DAA); and CONSENT DECREE - 1 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 1.8 Defendant Prima Processing Solutions, LLC d/b/a Simple Student Loan 2 Solutions (Defendant), having been served with the Summons and Complaint or having waived 3 service; and Washington, appearing by and through its attorneys, Robert Ferguson, Attorney 4 General, and John A. Nelson and Benjamin J. Roesch, Assistant Attorneys General; and 5 Defendant, appearing by and through its attorney Jacob R. Brennan of Lukins & Annis, P.S.; 6 and 7 1.9 Washington and Defendant having agreed on a basis for the settlement of the 8 matters alleged in the Complaint and to the entry of this Consent Decree against Defendant 9 without the need for trial or adjudication of any issue of law or fact; and 10 1.10 Defendant, by entering into this Consent Decree, does not admit the allegations 11 of the Complaint other than those solely as necessary to establish the jurisdiction of this Court; 12 and 13 1.11 Washington and Defendant agree this Consent Decree does not constitute 14 evidence or an admission regarding the existence or non-existence of any issue, fact, or 15 violation of any law alleged by Washington; and 16 1.12 Defendant recognizes and states this Consent Decree is entered into voluntarily 17 and that no promises, representations, or threats have been made by the Attorney General’s 18 Office or any member, officer, agent, or representative thereof to induce them to enter into this 19 Consent Decree, except for the promises and representations provided herein; and 20 21 22 1.13 Defendant waives any right it may have to appeal from this Consent Decree or to otherwise contest the validity of this Consent Decree; and 1.14 Defendant further agrees this Court shall retain jurisdiction of this action and 23 jurisdiction over Defendant for the purpose of implementing and enforcing the terms and 24 conditions of this Consent Decree and for all other purposes related to this matter; and 25 26 1.15 Defendant further agrees its payments made or due pursuant to this Consent Decree are not amenable to discharge in bankruptcy and it shall not seek or support its CONSENT DECREE - 2 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 discharge in bankruptcy, nor oppose its being determined not amenable to discharge in 2 bankruptcy; and 3 1.16 Defendant further agrees its payments made or due pursuant to this Consent 4 Decree are not preferential transfers of assets and it shall not make or support arguments to the 5 contrary in bankruptcy court or elsewhere. 6 The Court, finding no just reason for delay; 7 NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED as 8 follows: 9 II. GENERAL 10 2.1 This Court has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this action and of the parties. 11 2.2 This Consent Decree or the fact of its entry does not constitute evidence or an 12 admission by any party regarding the existence or non-existence of any issue, fact, or violation 13 of any law alleged by Washington. To the contrary, Defendant has denied and continues to 14 deny any and all wrongdoing of any kind whatsoever and retains, and does not waive, any and 15 all defenses Defendant may have with respect to such matters. 16 2.3 This Consent Decree fully and finally resolves and forever discharges and 17 releases all claims and causes of action under the CPA and DAA that the State of Washington 18 has filed or may in the future file against Defendant arising out of or relating to the facts and 19 matters specifically described in the Complaint, except that Defendant’s material failure to 20 comply with this Consent Decree shall permit the Attorney General of Washington to take such 21 further action against Defendant as provided for herein. 22 23 24 25 26 III. 3.1 INJUNCTION The injunctive provisions of this Consent Decree shall apply to Defendant and to its successors, assigns, and others acting in concert with Defendant.1 1 The form and scope of this language, as used throughout this document, is intended to have the same form, scope, and application as subsection (d) of Washington Court Rule 65. CONSENT DECREE - 3 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 2 3 3.2 Defendant agrees, acknowledges, and declares that each and every contract between Defendant and any Washington consumer(s) for debt adjusting services is void. 3.3 Defendant shall not request, charge, or receive an initial fee to Washington 4 consumers for debt adjusting services in excess of $25.00 or other applicable statutory limit. 5 See RCW 18.28.080(1). 6 3.4 Defendant shall not request, charge, receive, or retain any fee from Washington 7 consumers for debt adjusting services in excess of 15 percent of the consumer’s payment to his 8 or her creditor, or other applicable statutory limit. See RCW 18.28.080(1). 9 10 11 12 13 3.5 Defendant shall comply with all statutory requirements for debt adjusting contracts in Washington, including statutorily required notices. See RCW 18.28.100. 3.6 Defendant shall not advertise, distribute, or promote its debt adjusting services in any manner that is false, misleading or deceptive. See RCW 18.28.120. 3.7 To the extent Defendant has received passwords, PINs, social security numbers, 14 or other confidential information of Washington consumers, they shall (a) confirm that the 15 Washington consumers are in possession of the information, and then (b) destroy all copies of 16 the confidential information to the extent permitted by law. 17 3.8 To the extent Defendant currently receives mail or correspondence on behalf of 18 Washington consumers from the U.S. Department of Education or its student loan servicers, 19 Defendant shall take all actions necessary to ensure that (a) such mail or correspondence is sent 20 directly to the Washington consumers in the future, (b) forward to the Washington consumers 21 all such mail or correspondence that Defendant reasonably believes the Washington consumers 22 have not received, and (c) destroy all copies of the mail or correspondence to the extent 23 permitted by law. 24 3.9 Defendant shall not advertise to Washington consumers that it provides debt 25 management, counseling, settling, adjusting, prorating, liquidating, or consolidating services 26 unless Defendant actually provides those services to Washington consumers. CONSENT DECREE - 4 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 3.10 Defendant shall, no later than seven (7) days after entry of this Consent Decree, 2 disclose to attorneys for the State, the identity (including the business name, address, phone 3 number, and name(s) of principal(s)) of the lead generation entity with which Defendant 4 contracted to send the email solicitation attached to this Consent Decree as Exhibit A to 5 Washington consumers. Defendant’s failure to provide the identity of this lead generation 6 entity shall be a material breach of this Consent Decree. 7 3.11 Defendant shall not sell, convey, or otherwise transfer to any individual, 8 business, or entity, any data pertaining to Washington consumers including but not limited to a 9 consumer’s age, sex, race, income, address, email address, telephone number, employment 10 status, purchase history, student loan types or balances, personally identifying information 11 (such as date of birth or social security number) or level of education. Such limitation applies 12 regardless of whether or not the consumer data was purchased by Defendant or obtained during 13 the process of providing goods or services to Washington consumers. In the event Defendant 14 believes it is required to produce such information by law, it shall provide the Attorney 15 General’s Office with fourteen (14) days’ written notice before doing so. 16 17 IV. 4.1 MONETARY PAYMENT Pursuant to RCW 19.86.080, Washington shall recover on behalf of Washington 18 consumers, and Defendant shall pay to Washington $27,170.02 for distribution to Washington 19 consumers who entered into contracts with Defendant. Defendant shall fully cooperate with 20 Washington in Washington’s distribution of payments to these consumers, including providing 21 to Washington a list of these consumers, the sum paid to Defendant by each individual 22 consumer, and the consumers’ last known addresses and other available contact information. 23 4.2 Pursuant to RCW 19.86.080, Washington shall recover and Defendant shall pay 24 Washington the amount of $5,500.00 for costs and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by 25 Washington in pursuing this matter, for monitoring and potential enforcement of this Consent 26 CONSENT DECREE - 5 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 Decree, for future enforcement of RCW 19.86, or for any lawful purpose in the discharge of 2 the Attorney General’s duties at the sole discretion of the Attorney General. 3 4.3 Payments referenced in paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 shall be made no later than 4 February 22, 2017 by valid check payable to “State of Washington Attorney General’s 5 Office,” delivered to the Office of the Attorney General, Attention, Cynthia Lockridge, 6 Administrative Office Manager, 800 Fifth Ave., Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98104-3188. 7 4.4 Defendant’s failure to timely make payments as required by this Consent 8 Decree by the date of entry of this Consent Decree, without written agreement by Washington, 9 shall be a material breach of this Consent Decree. 10 11 4.5 Defendant’s failure to pay attorneys’ fees and costs to Washington as required by this Consent Decree shall be a material breach of the Consent Decree. 12 13 V. 5.1 ENFORCEMENT Defendant shall be in full compliance with all requirements and obligations this 14 Consent Decree imposes on Defendant by the date of entry of this Consent Decree, except as 15 otherwise indicated herein. 16 5.2 If Defendant violates a material condition of this Consent Decree, and if 17 Defendant does not cure the violation within a reasonable time after notice by Washington, 18 Washington may seek the imposition of additional conditions, civil penalties of up to 19 $25,000.00 per violation pursuant to RCW 19.86.140, restitution, injunctive relief, attorney’s 20 fees, costs and such other remedies as the Court may deem appropriate at an evidentiary 21 hearing in which Defendant has an opportunity to be heard, if the Court finds by a 22 preponderance of the evidence that Defendant has violated a material condition of this Consent 23 Decree. In any successful action to enforce this Consent Decree against Defendant, Defendant 24 shall bear Washington’s reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees. 25 26 5.3 Jurisdiction is retained by this Court for the purpose of enabling any party to this Consent Decree to apply to the Court, to the extent permitted herein, for enforcement of CONSENT DECREE - 6 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 compliance with this Consent Decree, to punish violations thereof, or otherwise address the 2 provisions of this Consent Decree. 3 4 5 5.4 Nothing in this Consent Decree shall grant any third-party beneficiary or other rights to any person who is not a party to this Consent Decree. 5.5 Nothing in this Consent Decree shall be construed to limit or bar any other 6 governmental entity or person from pursuing other available remedies against Defendant or 7 any other person. 8 5.6 Under no circumstances shall this Consent Decree, or the name of the State of 9 Washington, this Court, the Office of the Attorney General, the Consumer Protection Division, 10 or any of their employees or representatives be used by Defendant or any of its respective 11 owners, members, directors, successors, assigns, transferees, officers, agents, servants, 12 employees, representatives, and all other persons or entities in active concert or participation 13 with Defendant, in connection with any selling, advertising, or promotion of products or 14 services, or as an endorsement or approval of Defendant’s acts, practices, or conduct of 15 business. 16 5.7 Washington shall be permitted, upon advance written notice of twenty (20) days 17 to Defendant, to access, inspect and/or copy business records or documents in possession, 18 custody or under control of Defendant to monitor compliance with this Consent Decree, 19 provided that the inspection and copying shall avoid unreasonable disruption of Defendant’s 20 business activities. Washington shall not disclose any information described in this Paragraph 21 5.7 (Confidential Information) unless such disclosure is required by law. In the event that 22 Washington receives a request under the Public Records Act, subpoena, or other demand for 23 production that seeks the disclosure of Confidential Information, Washington shall notify 24 Defendant as soon as practicable and in no event more than ten (10) calendar days after 25 receiving such request and shall allow Defendant a reasonable time, not less than ten (10) 26 calendar days, from the receipt of such notice to seek a protective order relating to the CONSENT DECREE - 7 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 Confidential Information or to otherwise resolve any disputes relating to the production of the 2 Confidential Information before Washington discloses any Confidential Information. Nothing 3 in this Consent Decree shall affect State of Washington’s compliance with the Public Records 4 Act, RCW 42.56. 5 5.8 To monitor compliance with this Consent Decree, Washington shall be 6 permitted to serve interrogatories pursuant to the provisions of CR 26 and CR 33 and to 7 question Defendant or any officer, director, agent, or employee of Defendant by deposition 8 pursuant to the provisions of CR 26 and CR 30 provided that Washington attempts in good 9 faith to schedule the deposition at a time convenient for the deponent and his or her legal 10 11 counsel. 5.9 This Consent Decree in no way limits Washington from conducting any lawful 12 non-public investigation to monitor Defendant’s compliance with this Consent Decree or to 13 investigate other alleged violations of the CPA and DAA, which may include but is not limited 14 to interviewing customers or former employees of Defendant. 15 5.10 This Consent Decree shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of 16 Defendant’s successors and assigns. Defendant and its successors and assigns shall notify the 17 Attorney General’s Office at least thirty (30) days prior to any change-in-control of Defendant 18 that would change the identity of the corporate entity responsible for compliance obligations 19 arising under this Consent Decree, including but not limited to dissolution, assignment, sale, 20 merger, or other action that would result in the emergence of a successor corporation; the 21 creation or dissolution of a subsidiary, parent, or affiliate that engages in any acts or practices 22 subject to this order; the proposed filing of a bankruptcy petition; or a change in the corporate 23 name or address. 24 corporation about which Defendant and its successors and assigns learn less than thirty (30) 25 days prior to the date such action is to take place, Defendant and its successors and assigns Provided, however, that with respect to any proposed change in the 26 CONSENT DECREE - 8 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206) 464-7745 1 shall notify the Attorney General's Office as soon as is practicable after obtaining such 2 knowledge. 3 5.11 Any notice or other communication required or permitted under this Consent 4 Decree shall be in writing and delivered to the following persons or any person subsequently 5 designated by the parties: 6 For Prima Processing Solufions. LLC dlb/a Simtile Student Loan: 7 Christopher P. Meier, Esq. Grreenspoon Marder,P.A. 100 W. Cypress Creek Rd., Suite 700 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 8' 9' For the. State of Washington: 10 John A.Nelson and Benjamin J. Roesch, Assistant Attorneys General Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 11 ' 12~ 13 14 5.12 15 Decree immediately. 16 The Clerk of the Court is ordered to enter the foregoing Judgment and Consent DONE IN OPEN COURT this day of.February, 2017. 17 18 19' COURT TUDGE/COMMISSIONER 20 Presented by: 21 22 ROBERT W.FERGUSON AttoC~-~' ener l~Totice ofPresentment Waived and Approved as to Formby: LL;~SdNS/&z,~1NL8'IP.S. 23 24 25 26 J NELSON, WSBA #45724 BENJAMIN J. ROESCH,WSBA #39960 Assistant Attorneys General Attorneys for Plaintiff State of Washington CONSENT DECREE - 9 JA OB R. BRErI~ can, WSBA #42887 orneys for Defen t Prima Processing utions, LLC ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASIiINGTON Consumer Protection Division 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 (206)464-7745 EXHIBIT A From: To: Subject: Date: . Fw :2016 University Cancellation Remedies Thursday, September 29,2016 11:00:04 AM ---------- Forwarded message ---------From:"Groves Nelms" Date: Sep 29, 2016 9.26 AM Subject: 2016 Universi Cancellation Remedies Ta: ~~:~~~ Hello, T1ie 2016 University Forgiveness Plan, was created by recently approved legislation for ttie purpose of aiding individuals who are struggling to pay Uack dues obtained fiom the federal goveiniuent to ~o to college. To get into this program, a person mist not be taking classes this semester and ifthey are employed,it tremendously enhances their prospects for qualifying. They also need to be holding a balance of at least nine thousand dollars to be considered for acceptance. Once a person's eligibility is verified and they choose to sign up,they can get either a decrease in their amount owed or comprehensive discharge ofthe total from history. The amount is derived based off of a person's family size and occupational description. Call $77-959-9665 now to find out if you meet the requirements and also acquire more information regarding the features of enrolling in this program. We're pleased to supply our assistance and hope that you have a good start to the day. King County Superior Court Judicial Electronic Signature Page Case Number: Case Title: Not available at this time Document Title: AGREED ORDER Signed by: Date: Commissioner Henry Judson 2/14/2017 10:27:11 AM 17-2-03474-6 Judge/Commissioner: Commissioner Henry Judson This document is signed in accordance with the provisions in GR 30. Certificate Hash: 252A2613AD1DF6F184ADD5EFD5753C76D53A5CB8 Certificate effective date: 7/16/2014 12:09:30 PM Certificate expiry date: 7/16/2019 12:09:30 PM Certificate Issued by: C=US, E=kcscefiling@kingcounty.gov, OU=KCDJA, O=KCDJA, CN="Henry Judson: WPypi5D74hGx6nH1YIhwmw==" Page 12 of 12