CitiFinancial to Pay $907K for Seizing Soldiers Cars

DALLAS (CN) – CitiFinancial Credit has agreed to pay $907,000 to settle claims it illegally repossessed cars belonging to active-duty service members, federal prosecutors said Monday.

The Department of Justice says at least 164 cars were repossessed between 2007 and 2010 in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which shields members of the military from certain civil actions while they are serving.

“During the investigation, the Department learned that CitiFinancial conducted repossessions without court orders even when CitiFinancial had evidence in its own records suggesting that a borrower could be a protected servicemember,” prosecutors said in a statement. “In several cases, loan servicing notes indicated that CitiFinancial was informed that the borrower was in military service or had received orders to report for military service. CitiFinancial, nevertheless, continued repossession efforts and eventually succeeded in repossessing the servicemembers’ vehicles.”


https://www.courthousenews.com/citifinancial-pay-900k-seizing-soldiers-cars/