loan broker

BBB says fraudulent loan broker is using its name

The Better Business Bureau has issued an international alert about a fraudulent loan broker that is using the BBB name to market advance fee loans. The address given to potential customers by the loan broker is an apartment complex in Layton.

According to a BBB statement, the agency has received complaints across the country about the business, which appears to be operating out of Toronto, Canada, while targeting consumers and businesses in the United States.

The company goes by several names, including JFC Financing, Jefferson Financial Corp. and Steinburg Financial. The business phone number, 888-647-6454, does not always connect to a person, the BBB stated, and its Web site, www.jfcfinancing.com, operates intermittently.

"We're alarmed because potential customers who have called this business's phone number report being told that the company is a member of the Better Business Bureau, a false claim," said Ken Hunter, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, in a statement. "Other victims said they were transferred to a 'Better Business Bureau Department' that faxed them copies of counterfeit BBB reports. The company has also provided a number of counterfeit BBB reports about itself and potential competitors through two fake BBB Web sites that we suspect it established. These practices mislead consumers and violate federal trademark, counterfeiting and copyright laws."

The business targets people with poor credit histories, the Utah BBB stated, and promises consumers or businesses up to $25,000 in loans. Victims have reported being asked to send advance fees in order to obtain their loans. None of the companies is licensed to make such loans in Utah, the BBB stated.

"The BBB is unaware of any evidence that any individual has actually received a loan from this company, no matter how much the victim has paid in advance fees," said Russ Behrmann, president of the BBB of Utah, in the agency's statement. "Furthermore, when some victims contacted the company for refunds, they were asked to pay additional up-front fees."

The Utah BBB urges consumers who have sent money to these companies to take immediate steps to limit financial losses, including contacting their financial institution to cancel checks or credit card transactions. If money was sent via wire transfer, the BBB advises people to check with the business that forwarded the funds for appropriate next steps. Victims are also encouraged to file a complaint with the BBB at www.utah.bbb.org.

Complaints filed with the BBB are being presented to appropriate law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada for action, the BBB stated. Advance fee loans to consumers are illegal in the United States.

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