CNN
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The Consumer Financial Protection Agency has terminated contracts with several expert witnesses hired in lawsuits against businesses accused of hurting consumers.
The decision to suddenly cancel a contract with expert witnesses suggests that consumer watchdogs are no longer planning plans to pursue these enforcement actions under the Trump administration.
“The world’s wealthiest man is coming to close cases where lenders are cheating on people working,” an expert witness whose contract was cancelled on Tuesday called a phone interview, hinting at Elon Musk He told CNN. “That’s totally outrageous.”
Expert witnesses requested anonymity to avoid retaliation.
“I’m a bit afraid of them. They can sue me or try to send out FBI agents,” the first expert witness said.
Another expert witness was hired to pursue a lawsuit against the debt buyer. CNN said it was working on the lawsuit several years before Tuesday’s notice of fire.
“That’s pretty ridiculous,” the witness said.
The CFPB did not respond to requests for comment.
When CFPB prepares to file a lawsuit against a company, it usually employs professors, researchers, and others as experts, evaluates the evidence and testifies to financial institutions.
“If the CFPB fires an expert who supported the claims, it suggests that the CFPB is no longer interested in pursuing claims against at least some financial institutions,” says a research professor at Suffolk University Law School. One Kathleen Engel said:
Engel said the termination of the expert witness contract suggests broader policies under the new administration to halt the pursuit of enforcement action.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Engel, who served on the CFPB advisory board.
The move comes days after CFPB leadership told employees to “fall” on all jobs, including fighting financial abuse.
