Beware of advance fee debt relief schemes in Charlotte
Serge Semirog
A classic advance fee scheme involves a so-called debt relief firm that collects thousands of dollars in upfront fees from consumers promising to obtain debt relief but rarely obtains any debt relief for them.
Most recently a Wake County judge has extended an order that bars World Law Group, one of the largest debt settlement firms in the country, from taking orders and collecting money from consumers in North Carolina.
Based on information uncovered during Attorney General's investigation, at least 813 North Carolina consumers have paid World Law Group more than $4.1 million for debt settlement services since 2010. Of that amount, World Law Group collected more than $2.6 million for itself in illegal advance fees and used only $527,000, or less than 13 percent, to pay the consumers’ creditors.