Last Updated
Case Status
Pending
Federal Trade Commission, Plaintiff, v. START CONNECTING LLC, d/b/a USA AND OTHER RELIEF
Student Debt Relief, a Florida limited liability company; START CONNECTING SAS, d/b/a USA Student Debt Relief, a Colombia corporation; DOUGLAS R. GOODMAN, individually and as an officer of START
CONNECTING LLC; DORIS E. GALLON-GOODMAN, individually and as an officer of START
CONNECTING LLC; and JUAN S. ROJAS, individually and as an officer of START CONNECTING LLC and START CONNECTING SAS, Defendants.
Student Debt Relief, a Florida limited liability company; START CONNECTING SAS, d/b/a USA Student Debt Relief, a Colombia corporation; DOUGLAS R. GOODMAN, individually and as an officer of START
CONNECTING LLC; DORIS E. GALLON-GOODMAN, individually and as an officer of START
CONNECTING LLC; and JUAN S. ROJAS, individually and as an officer of START CONNECTING LLC and START CONNECTING SAS, Defendants.
Docket Number
8:24-cv-01626-KKM-AAS
Federal Court
Middle District of Florida
Case Summary
In July 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it stopped the operators of a scheme that it says tricked financially strapped consumers seeking student loan relief into paying hundreds of dollars in junk fees. The operators often targeted Spanish-speaking consumers in Puerto Rico, pretended to be affiliated with the Department of Education and its loan servicers, and made false promises of low, permanently fixed monthly payments and loan forgiveness.
A federal court temporarily halted the scheme and froze its assets at the request of the FTC, which seeks to end the unlawful practices and secure redress for the thousands of consumers who have been harmed.