KC attorney ran illegal debt-relief business, feds say

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is suing Kansas City, Kan., attorney Lawrence Williamson, saying he was operating a debt-relief business illegally.

In the suit, filed in the U.S. Central District of California, the agency alleges that Williamson and attorney Vincent Howard collected millions of dollars from clients by charging exorbitant, illegal advance fees promising to find relief from their creditors. Not only is collecting in advance illegal, but many times there is a failure to even settle the case.

Williamson owns the Williamson Law Firm and co-owns Williamson & Howard, which was associated with another firm, Morgen Drexen, which was forced out of business by the bureau in 2015, according to the suit.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 4:23 PM with the headline "KC attorney ran illegal debt-relief business, feds say."