Among the many class action cases Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. has brought over the last decade, Kang v. Credit Bureau Connection, Inc. is a crucial case in our fight to protect the rights of people who are subject to credit reporting agencies’ willful, reckless, and negligent practices that associate regular consumers with terrorists, drug traffickers, and other individuals listed in the U.S. government’s OFAC database.
What is the case about?
When Plaintiff Sung Gon Kang tried to buy a car nearly five years ago, Credit Bureau Connection, Inc. (CBC) confused his identity with someone on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list. The OFAC list is a catalog of terrorists, money launderers, drug traffickers, and others subject to government sanctions. By law, Americans cannot do business with people or companies on this list.
Even though it was inaccurate, CBC’s false association prevented Kang from financing a car in his name because the dealership could not risk the severe fines and even imprisonment it would incur for conducting business with someone on the OFAC list.
What are the claims in the case?
Kang and his lawyers at the firms Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C., in Philadelphia, and Caddell and Chapman, in Monterey, CA, filed a class action lawsuit against CBC claiming that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) because it fails to maintain reasonable procedures to assure the “maximum possible accuracy” of the information it associates with consumers. The lawsuit claims that CBC uses inadequate procedures, such as not considering basic information like date of birth, that result in erroneously identifying consumers as being part of the OFAC Database when they are not.
What’s happening now?
The Court certified the Class in March 2022. Now, the case is proceeding toward trial. As we prepare to get the best outcome, we need more information from class members. What happened when this misleading information was sold about you? We want to hear your story. Chat with us during regular business hours or email us at kang@consumerlawfirm.com.
How does this case relate to Ramirez v. Trans Union, LLC?
Last year, the Supreme Court considered another OFAC case, Ramirez v. TransUnion, LLC. The Court established that in federal cases, consumers about whom a consumer reporting agency reports misleading OFAC information to a third party have had their reputations harmed. Due to this reputational harm, such consumers have the right to seek damages in federal court. All Class Members in Kang v. Credit Bureau Connection, Inc. have experienced this same reputational harm because CBC’s records demonstrate a report was prepared about them and sold to a third party, like a car dealership, and that report listed an OFAC “Hit.”
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