FTC Adds Defendants in Case Alleging Unlawful Debt Relief Operation

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has added more defendants in its case against student loan debt relief operation Superior Servicing and its operator, Dennise Merdjanian.

The regulator’s amended complaint added corporate defendants Sunrise Solutions USA LLC, Alumni Advantage LLC, Student Processing Center Group LLC, SPCTWO LLC and Accredit LLC, and individual defendants Eric Caldwell and David Hernandez, the FTC said in a Friday (March 28) press release.

The FTC filed its initial complaint against Superior Servicing and Merdjanian in November, alleging that they took millions of dollars from student loan borrowers while pretending to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education and falsely promising student loan forgiveness, according to the release.

The agency’s amended complaint alleges that the newly added defendants work with Merdjanian to operate an “unlawful debt relief operation through a maze of shifting corporate entities,” per the release.

“According to the complaint, the defendants falsely claim that they can help consumers erase their student loan debt,” the release said. “In reality, the defendants take hundreds of dollars from consumers in illegal advance payments in exchange for virtually nothing, often leaving consumers even further in debt.”

The FTC said Dec. 9 that in response to its complaint against Superior Servicing and Merdjanian, a federal court entered a temporary restraining order on Nov. 22 and a preliminary injunction against Superior Servicing on Dec. 6.

With these actions, the court halted and froze the assets of Superior Servicing and Merdjanian, according to the release.

The FTC charged that the defendants violated the Impersonation Rule, the FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive marketing, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, per the release.

In other recent news from the regulator, the FTC said March 14 that its law enforcement actions resulted in $337.3 million in refunds to consumers in 2024, up from $324 million in 2023.

“Getting money back for people across the country is a top priority for the FTC,” Chris Mufarrige, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, said at the time in a press release. “We will relentlessly pursue refunds for Americans who lost money to unlawful practices.”