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          Additional Information

          Not BBB accredited

          Strategic Consulting

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          This is a multi-location business.

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          Strategic Consulting has 2 locations, listed below.

          *This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

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            • Strategic Consulting

              115 Lawrence Bell Dr Buffalo, NY 14221-8447

            • Strategic Consulting

              655 W Broadway STE 900 San Diego, CA 92101

            Location of This Business
            115 Lawrence Bell Dr, Buffalo, NY 14221-8447
            BBB File Opened:
            3/10/2021
            Years in Business:
            11
            Business Started:
            8/28/2012
            Business Incorporated:
            11/28/2017
            Type of Entity:
            Limited Liability Company (LLC)
            Alternate Business Name
            • Strategic Consulting (SFS) LLC
            Business Management
            • Mr. Joseph O'Donnell, Complaint Contact
            • Mr. Andrew Bayudan, Legal Counsel
            Contact Information

            Customer Contact

            • Mr. Joseph O'Donnell, Complaint Contact
            Additional Contact Information

            Phone Numbers

            Website Addresses

            Additional Business Information
            Pending Government Action
            Government Action: BBB reports on known government actions involving business’ marketplace conduct:
            CFPB and Seven State Attorneys General Sue Debt-Relief Enterprise, Strategic Financial Solutions, for Illegally Swindling More Than $100 Million from Financially Struggling Families
            The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the government’s allegations, which have not yet been proven.

            WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and seven state attorneys general sued Strategic Financial Solutions (SFS) and its web of shell companies for running an illegal debt-relief enterprise. The CFPB and state attorneys general also sued the chief architects of the illegal enterprise, Ryan Sasson and Jason Blust. The CFPB and attorneys general allege the enterprise has collected hundreds of millions of dollars in exorbitant, illegal fees from vulnerable consumers. The CFPB and attorneys general filed the suit under seal on January 10, 2024. They are requesting the court to order a stop to the enterprise’s illegal actions, order redress for consumers, and impose a civil money penalty. The seven states joining with the CFPB are Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

            Strategic Financial Solutions markets itself as providing debt relief services. It has offices in New York City and Buffalo, New York. Ryan Sasson is the chief executive officer of SFS. SFS sits at the top of a web of shell companies and façade law firms, which are controlled by Sasson and fellow scheme architect Jason Blust.

            SFS runs an alleged scheme, involving dozens of entities, to dupe consumers and regulators. The company uses third parties to target financially vulnerable consumers with advertisements. The advertisements lead consumers to believe they may qualify for loans to help pay down debts. SFS employees then discuss these loans with consumers over the phone. Though SFS tells most, if not all, consumers that they do not qualify for the advertised loans, SFS encourages consumers to enroll in its debt-relief services. SFS promises that its network of law firms and lawyers will negotiate lower debt amounts.

            SFS provides little, if any, debt-relief services. SFS requires customers to make immediate payments into an escrow account. Long before it settles any debts, however, SFS collects the fees from the escrow account. While the illegal fees and false claims of legal assistance leave consumers worse off, Sasson and Blust pad their pockets through their web of shell companies that siphon the fees from the escrow accounts.
            Service Type

            Alert

            See What BBB Reports On

            Government Action: BBB reports on known government actions involving business’ marketplace conduct:

            CFPB and Seven State Attorneys General Sue Debt-Relief Enterprise, Strategic Financial Solutions, for Illegally Swindling More Than $100 Million from Financially Struggling Families

            March 4, 2024, United States District Court, Western District of New York, Plaintiffs, which include the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and various state attorneys general offices, claim that defendants, a telemarketing business and related entities providing debt-relief services, are violating the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarking Sales Rules by collecting advance fees from consumers. Defendants contend that they are exempt from the prohibition against advance fees pursuant to a "face-to-face" exception which allows advance fees if the seller provides a face-to-face sales presentation to the consumer before collecting any payment for their services. The Court finds that plaintiffs have made a preliminary showing that the face-to-face exception likely does not apply here.

            The face-to-face presentations are conducted by notaries, who are independent contractors and not sellers of defendants' debt-relief services. The evidence introduced over the course of a two-day hearing demonstrated that these notaries (1) have no substantive knowledge of the debt-relief program; (2) cannot and will not answer any substantive questions by consumers about the program; and (3) have as their primary purpose the signing of the contract for debt-relief services. The contracts signed in the presence of the notaries require consumers to execute several waivers of important rights, such as agreeing to arbitration and waiving the right to participate in any class action lawsuits. The presentation lists multiple potential negative consequences of the debt-relief program, such as the likelihood that the consumer's credit score will be negatively impacted and that they will experience an increase in collection activity from debt-collectors. This essential information is presented to individuals drowning in debt and desperate for any lifeline, without the ability to have their questions answered in person, by an individual with substantive knowledge who is actually affiliated with the program. Instead, if there are questions, the consumers are given a phone number to call, which goes back to the telemarketing company. Thus, the face-to-face presentations do
            not result in consumers being more informed about the program and do not limit the potential problems the TSR was designed to remedy.

            Accordingly, plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction is granted, defendants are preliminarily enjoined from charging and/or collecting advance fees, and the Court will enter plaintiffs' proposed preliminary injunction order.

            Contact Information

            115 Lawrence Bell Dr

            Buffalo, NY 14221-8447

            (844) 290-9173

            Accreditation

            This business is not BBB Accredited

            Years in Business: 11

            BBB Rating

            NR

            Customer Reviews are not used in the calculation of BBB Rating

            Reasons for BBB Rating

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