December 22, 2022

Consumer Refund Payments Have Begun
In December 2022, the CFPB’s payment administrator began mailing out checks to eligible consumers who paid fees to the Defendants.

The CFPB statement and relevant information for the payment administrator can be found here:(https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_premier-student-loan_one-pager_2022-12.pdf).

December 21, 2022

CFPB Settles with Defendant Albert Kim and Relief Defendant Sarah Kim
Pursuant to the terms of the Stipulated Final Judgments entered against Relief Defendant Sarah Kim and Defendant Albert Kim, certain vehicles and jewelry were turned over to the Receiver to liquidate, the proceeds from which will be turned over directly to the Plaintiffs.

CFPB Litigation Against Defendant Kaine Wen Continues
The CFPB litigation as to the remaining Defendant Kaine Wen continues.  The trial of the claims against Kaine Wen has been continued until May 23, 2023.

Receiver’s Settlement with Pub Club Leads and Insurance Company
The Receiver conducted a mediation with Defendants’ embedded lead provider, The Brea Financial Group, LLC d/b/a Pub Club Leads, and its individual owner (collectively “Pub Club”) and reached a prelitigation settlement which required Pub Club to pay a total of $675,000 to the Receivership Estate.  As part of that settlement, Pub Club assigned to the Receiver its rights to pursue claims against one of its insurers, which had refused to participate in the mediation and was not included in the settlement.  The Receiver successfully pursued the insurance claims and reached a settlement with the insurer in the amount of $245,000.

Receiver’s Lawsuit Against NMC Continues
The Receiver’s lawsuit against National Merchant Center, Inc., Jimmy Lai, and Swift Payments currently has a trial date of June 27, 2023.

April 26, 2022

The case is still pending in federal court, with a current trial date of November 1, 2022.  Judgments have been entered against the majority of the parties.  Copies of the stipulated judgments and default judgment are available in the Documents section of this webpage.  Plaintiffs are still pursuing the litigation against Defendants Albert Kim and Kaine Wen and Relief Defendant Sarah Kim.  In April, Plaintiffs filed a Renewed Motion for Order to Show Cause Why Defendant Wen Should Not Be Held in Contempt and for Related Relief (the “Contempt Motion”) arguing that Kaine Wen failed to disclose a number of cryptocurrency assets and asking the Court to find him in contempt.  The Contempt Motion is available in the Documents section of this webpage, along with Defendant Wen’s response.

The lawsuit that the Receiver filed against National Merchant Center, Inc., Jimmy Lai, and Swift Payments on June 28, 2021, is proceeding, with all of the defendants having filed Answers to the First Amended Complaint in the action.  The Answers are available in the Documents section of this webpage (and here NMC Answer, Lai & Swift Payments Answer).  The case has now entered the discovery phase.

October 29, 2021

Judgments have been entered against the majority of the parties (copies of the stipulated and default judgments are posted in the Documents section of this webpage).  Since our last update, Relief Defendant Judy Dai stipulated to judgment against her, which judgment was entered by the Court on June 15, 2021.

Plaintiffs continue to pursue the case against the remaining Defendants TAS 2019 LLC, Albert Kim, and Kaine Wen, and Relief Defendant Sarah Kim.  The case is entering the discovery phase and parties filed a joint discovery plan with Court on September 21, 2021.  The Court is currently in the process of establishing pretrial and trial dates.

The Preliminary Injunction authorizes the Receiver to, among other things, institute court proceedings that he deems necessary and advisable to preserve or recover the Assets of the Receivership Defendants.  Based on that authority, on June 28, 2021, the Receiver filed a lawsuit against National Merchant Center, Inc., Jimmy Lai, and Swift Payments, alleging that they knowingly secured and provided payment processing services for the fraudulent student loan debt relief companies and aided and abetted the companies in the scheme.  The Receiver amended his Complaint on October 18, 2021.  A copy of the First Amended Complaint is available in the Documents section of this webpage.  Defendants’ responses to the First Amended Complaint are due on November 15, 2021.

May 10, 2021

On April 20, 2021, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) which, among other things, added Judy Dai as a Relief Defendant.  Ms. Dai has until June 21, 2021 to respond to the SAC.  A redacted copy of the SAC is available in the Documents section of this webpage.

A Default Judgment and Order as to Defendants First Priority LLC and True Count Staffing Inc. was entered on December 15, 2020.  Plaintiffs are continuing their litigation against Defendants TAS 2019 LLC, Albert Kim, and Kaine Wen, and Relief Defendants Infinite Management Corp. and Judy Dai.  The Receiver continues to pursue potential claims against third parties who assisted Defendants in their illegal businesses or benefited from fraudulent transfers from the Defendants.

If the Plaintiffs prevail in the case, the matter of refunds will be an issue for them to resolve with the Court’s approval.  As further information becomes available on the subject of refunds, we will post it on the Receiver’s website.

October 9, 2020

Stipulated Final Judgments have been entered as to Defendants Prime Consulting and Horizon Consultants (August 26, 2020); Tuong Nguyen and TN Accounting (August 28, 2020); and as to Relief Defendants Hold the Door, Corp. and Mice and Men LLC (September 8, 2020).  Copies of the judgments are available in the Documents section of this webpage.  Plaintiffs are seeking entry of default judgment against Defendant First Priority LLC.

Defendants True Count Staffing, Inc., TAS 2019 LLC, Albert Kim, and Kaine Wen and Relief Defendant Infinite Management Corp. have responded to the First Amended Complaint and the parties will likely engage in discovery, further motion practice, and may proceed to trial

Meanwhile, the Receiver is in the process of liquidating assets recently turned over to the receivership pursuant to the Stipulated Final Judgments and investigating potential claims against third parties who assisted Defendants in their illegal businesses or benefited from fraudulent transfers from the Defendants.

June 19, 2020

On February 24, 2020, Plaintiffs’ amended their Complaint to include TAS 2019 LLC d/b/a Trusted Account Services; Horizon Consultants LLC, First Priority LLC d/b/a Priority Account Management as Defendants and Mice and Men LLC; 1st Generation Holdings, LLC; Sarah Kim, and Anan Enterprise, Inc. as Relief Defendants.  The FTC case is still in its early stages and the newly added parties have yet to respond to the FTC’s First Amended Complaint.

As detailed in the Receiver’s Preliminary Report to the Court (available in the Documents section of this webpage), after an initial investigation, the Receiver concluded that, despite an attempt in mid-2019 to operate in a more compliant manner, Defendants were operating an illegal student loan debt relief operation.  Defendants entered into a stipulated Preliminary Injunction on November 15, 2019 and the businesses were permanently closed.  The Receiver was authorized by the Court to close the offices, liquidate the office furniture and equipment, and return the leased premises to the landlords.

Among other things, the Preliminary Injunction tasked the Receiver with taking action where he deemed necessary and advisable to preserve or recover assets of the Receivership Defendants.  He is currently investigating potential claims against third parties who assisted Defendants in their illegal businesses or benefited from fraudulent transfers from the Defendants.

April 22, 2020 – Corrected 2019 W-2s for True Count Staffing Employees:

On April 20, 2020, ADP, the payroll provider, contacted us again and informed us that they failed to include fourth quarter 2019 wages in the W-2s for True Count Staffing employees.  ADP issued corrected 2019 W-2s for True Count Staffing employees.  These corrected W-2s will be sent to True Count Staffing employees shortly.

If you have not yet filed your 2019 tax returns, please use the corrected W-2s.  If you already filed your 2019 tax returns, you may want to inform your tax preparer of your corrected W-2 and discuss how best to proceed.  If your mailing address has changed, please email your new address to info@regulatoryresolutions.com with the subject line “SLAM – W-2 ADDRESS CHANGE.”

April 15, 2020 – Corrected 2019 W-2s for Prime Consulting Employees Only:

The payroll provider, ADP, previously issued W-2s for Prime Consulting employees.  However, on April 14, 2020, ADP informed us that they failed to include fourth quarter 2019 wages in the previously issued W-2s.  ADP issued corrected W-2s, which include fourth quarter 2019 wages, for Prime Consulting employees only.  These corrected W-2s will be sent to Prime Consulting employees shortly.  If you have not yet filed your 2019 tax returns, please use the corrected W-2s.  If you already filed your 2019 tax returns, you may want to inform your tax preparer of your corrected W-2 and discuss how best to proceed.  If your mailing address has changed, please email your new address to info@regulatoryresolutions.com with the subject line “SLAM – W-2 ADDRESS CHANGE.”

January 29, 2020 –Payroll and W-2s for Former Employees

As you may know, the Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, which included an asset freeze and appointment of a receiver.  Pursuant to the Court’s orders, the Receiver is not authorized to pay any pre-receivership debts or obligations without further court order.  The government has alleged consumer injury of more than $71 million and the assets frozen to date are a fraction of this amount.  As such, the Receiver does not intend to seek an order to pay pre-receivership payroll.

The Receiver has received several inquiries concerning W-2s from former employees.  The Receiver has contacted ADP, the payroll provider, and instructed them to issue W-2s.  We expect ADP to issue W-2s by January 31, 2020.  If your mailing address has changed, please email your new address to info@regulatoryresolutions.com with the subject line “SLAM – W-2 ADDRESS CHANGE.”

Notice to Employees – November 27, 2019

The Receiver’s staff will provide employees who complied with the TRO and completed a questionnaire or who are now willing to complete a questionnaire an opportunity to retrieve their personal items (e.g., photos, clothing, food, etc.) from the Irvine offices on Thursday, December 5, 2019 at the following times.

  • 15261 Laguna Canyon Rd, Suite 200 – 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
  • 173 Technology Drive, Suite 202 – 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
  • 8 Hughes Parkway, Suite 210 – 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Receiver’s staff will escort employees one at a time to his or her workspace to retrieve personal items.  Employees will not be allowed to remove any business records.

Notice to All Clients Regarding Student Debt Relief Assistance

The companies listed below have been sued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, The State of Minnesota, The State of North Carolina, and The People of the State of California (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) for deceptive and unlawful practices related to their student loan debt relief operation.

The Plaintiffs’ lawsuit was filed on October 21, 2019, naming as Defendants all of the companies listed below, along with their principals.  The Court entered a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) the same day, which prohibits any further unlawful conduct and appoints a Temporary Receiver to take possession and control of the business.  The Temporary Receiver suspended operations and conducted a review of the business.  A copy of the Receiver’s Preliminary Report can be found in the Documents section of this webpage.

On November 15, 2019, the Court entered the parties’ Stipulated Preliminary Injunction which extends the restrictions in the TRO until there is a trial of the case.  A copy of the Preliminary Injunction can be found in the Documents section of this webpage.  The Preliminary Injunction also keeps the Receiver in place.  The Receiver has concluded the Defendants’ business operations cannot be operated lawfully and profitably.  As such, the operations have been terminated.

We recommend that you immediately contact your student loan servicer and confirm to them that no third party is authorized to represent you in connection with your student loan account.  A list of approved student loan servicers can be found on the U.S. Department of Education website at:  https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/additionalInformation.action.

On November 18, 2019, the Receiver’s office sent notification of the lawsuit to all active customers.  To read a copy of the Notice, please refer to the Documents section of this webpage.  We will post regular updates to this website.  If you have additional questions, please send to info@regulatoryresolutions.com.

Companies named in the Plaintiffs’ lawsuit:

  • Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., also doing business as Premier Student Loan Center
  • True Count Staffing Inc., also doing business as SL Account Management
  • Prime Consulting LLC, also doing business as Financial Preparation Services

Some of the other names Defendants used are the following:

South Coast Financial Center; Direct Account Services; Financial Loan Advisors; Account Preparation Services; Administrative Financial; Tangible Savings Solutions; Coastal Shores Financial Group; First Choice Financial Centre; Administrative Account Services; Primary Account Solutions; Prime Document Services; Financial Accounting Center; Doc Management Solutions; Sequoia Account Management; Pacific Palm Financial Group; Pacific Shores Advisory; First Document Services; Keystone Document Center; Administrative Accounting Center; Global Direct Accounting Services; Signature Loan Solutions; Best Choice Financial Center; Yellowstone Account Services; Regional Accounting Center; and Financial Direct Services.

The principals of these companies are also named as Defendants in the lawsuit.  They include:  Albert Kim (aka Albert King), Kaine Wen (aka Wenting Kaine Dai, Wen Ting Dai, and Kaine Wen Dai), and Tuong Nguyen (aka Tom Nelson).