In a terse but decisive order, a New York federal judge has shut down a push by consumer advocacy groups to inject clarifying language into the CFPB’s MoneyLion Deal, the recently approved $1.75 million settlement between the agency and MoneyLion Technologies Inc. despite growing alarm that the agreement could be misused as a legal shield.
U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan declined the request Thursday, stamping it at the bottom of a letter filed a day earlier by several national consumer law firms. The judge noted the groups never formally sought to intervene and that both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and MoneyLion objected to any changes.
“Non-parties seek to amend a final consent judgment,” Cronan wrote, emphasizing the advocates’ own admission that they did not seek to alter its substantive terms. “The parties oppose this request, and the court declines to entertain it.”
A Settlement With High Stakes for Military Borrowers
Last month’s settlement brought closure to a Biden-era enforcement action accusing the fintech lender of overcharging service members in violation of the Military Lending Act, which caps annual percentage rates at 36% for military consumers.
The deal requires MoneyLion to issue redress payments but imposes no civil penalty and does not demand an admission of wrongdoing. It also codifies a controversial carve-out: MoneyLion may still charge certain membership fees, so long as the fees are “clearly and prominently disclosed” and military borrowers can cancel within a brief window.
