In 2015, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against Global Financial Support, Inc. and “its owner, Armond Aria,” over an alleged “student financial aid placement scam.” The CFPB alleged Global Financial Support was “tricking tens of thousands of students and their families into paying between $59 to $78 for personalized financial aid research that never materialized.” The lawsuit, which is still active, sought to provide “injunctive and ancillary relief” to consumers, to prevent Aria from committing further violations, and a fine.

• Case number 15CV2440-GPC-WVG was filed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of California._ Global Financial Support is “a California company” that operated “as either_Student Financial Resource Center or College Financial Advisory.” [Lalita Clozel, “CFPB Files Suit Over Student Financial Aid Placement Scam,” American Banker, 10/29/15]

• In the lawsuit, Global Financial Support was accused of “tricking tens of thousands of students and their families into paying between $59 to $78 for personalized financial aid research that never materialized.” The company allegedly “sent millions of letters slapped with fake seals or with university names to create the pretense of an affiliation with the schools’ financial aid departments or with the government.” In the event that students responded to the scam by making payments, “they would receive a booklet containing no individualized information, if anything at all.” [Lalita Clozel, “CFPB Files Suit Over Student Financial Aid Placement Scam,” American Banker, 10/29/15]

• In the lawsuit, the CFPB is seeking “to permanently prevent Amir from committing future violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act. It also wants the court to issue injunctive and ancillary relief and financial penalties, as well as cover the costs of the court case.” The company’s owner, Armond Aria, was also named in the lawsuit. [Lalita Clozel, “CFPB Files Suit Over Student Financial Aid Placement Scam,” American Banker, 10/29/15 and Hoang Tran, “U.S. accuses California man of deceiving financial aid seekers,” Legal News Line, 11/04/15]