Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau v. Aria

54 F.4th 1168

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v. Armond ARIA, aka Armond Amir Aria, owner and CEO of Global Financial Support, Inc., Defendant-Appellant,andGlobal Financial Support, Inc., dba College Financial Advisory, Student Financial Resource Center, Defendant.

No. 21-55525

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted November 15, 2022 San Jose, California

Filed December 13, 2022

Tanmay Shukla (argued), Chicago, Illinois, for Defendants-Appellant.

Derick Koo Sohn Jr. (argued) and Kevin E. Friedl, Senior Counsels; Laura M. Hussain, Assistant General Counsel; Steven Y. Bressler, Acting Deputy General Counsel; Seth Frotman, General Counsel; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Washington, D.C.; for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Before: Susan P. Graber, Richard C. Tallman, and Michelle T. Friedland, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

TALLMAN, Circuit Judge:

The Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) prohibits providers of "financial advisory services" from engaging in deceptive conduct. 12 U.S.C. §§ 5481(15)(A)(viii), 5536(a)(1)(B). Armond Aria mailed millions of solicitations to current and prospective college students, advertising a targeted program for assisting those students in applying for scholarships. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed an enforcement action in the district court alleging the solicitations were deceptive. The district court agreed and granted summary judgment to the CFPB.

On appeal, Aria primarily contends that he did not provide financial advisory services within the meaning of the CFPA because he offered advice on gift-based scholarships as opposed to investments or debt instruments. Alternatively, he argues that his solicitations were not deceptive. We disagree and affirm.

I

A

Aria was the founder, owner, CEO, and registered agent of the now-defunct Global Financial Support, Inc. (Global). Operating under the names "College Financial Advisory" and "Student Financial Resource Center," Global mailed millions of solicitations to current and prospective college students from 2011 to 2016. The solicitation packets contained a letter, an information sheet, a Demographic Form, and a return envelope.

The letters featured official-looking letterhead with college-themed seals and an arbitrary filing deadline. The wording varied from year to year, but the letters generally advised students to avoid taking out loans until they had applied to all of the available "free" financial aid programs. The letters asked students and their parents to disclose basic demographic information in the Demographic Form and pay Global a $59 to $78 "processing" fee. In exchange, the letters vaguely promised to enroll the students in a financial aid program. Meanwhile, the Demographic Form promised "to provide as many targeted financial aid opportunities as possible to each and every student." In fine print footnotes, the letters disclaimed any affiliation with governmental or educational institutions.

Minus refunds, Global received $4,738,028 in fees from at least 76,000 students. The only product or service that students received was a booklet. Each booklet contained a welcome memo that provided a general overview of student financial aid with advice on topics ranging from federal student loans to the tax implications of attending college. The booklets also contained sections on federal and state financial aid programs. Although Global included some tailored information based on students’ responses to the Demographic Form, Aria admitted the information was compiled "at a group level" and he "did not individually tailor [the booklets] to" any individual student. For example, students sometimes received the contact information for all 50 states’ financial aid agencies—regardless of the students’ residency—and were directed to Google search their home state's financial aid opportunities. Additionally, Aria asked students to list their interest in playing collegiate sports, but the booklets provided only a generic "list of scholarships available to student athletes regardless of sport."

Hundreds of complaints were submitted to various state, federal, and nonprofit consumer watchdog entities, which triggered the federal consumer fraud investigation that led to this proceeding.

B

In October 2015, the CFPB filed a civil enforcement action against Global and Aria. In relevant part, the CFPB alleged that Defendants’ conduct was deceptive because it misled students into thinking: (1) Global would provide a program to assist them in applying for scholarships; (2) Global would match them to individually targeted scholarship opportunities; and (3) they would miss financial aid opportunities by not complying with the filing deadline.

The district court stayed the case due to a pending collateral federal criminal investigation of Aria. In May 2019, the district court lifted the stay. In August 2020, the CFPB moved for summary judgment against Aria and default judgment against Global. The district court granted the CFPB's motion for default judgment against Global after Global failed to secure counsel to appear and defend the corporation and granted the CFPB's motion for summary judgment against Aria.

With respect to Aria, the district court held that his conduct fell under the CFPB's enforcement authority. The district court also found that he deceived students from 2011 to 2015 by implying that he offered a program for financial aid applications; he deceived students from 2011 to 2016 by implying that he would match students with scholarships; and he falsely implied throughout the relevant period that students would forfeit his services if they failed to comply with his arbitrary deadlines. The district court awarded restitution in the form of $4,738,028 in revenues net of refunds and imposed a civil penalty of $10 million. The district court also awarded injunctive relief to the CFPB.

Aria appeals, arguing that he was not subject to the CFPB's authority because he provided nonfinancial advice on "free" scholarships; that the net impression of his solicitations was not deceptive; and that the district court erred in calculating the restitution and civil penalty sums.

II

"We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo and may affirm on any ground supported by the record." CFPB v. Gordon , 819 F.3d 1179, 1187 (9th Cir. 2016). We likewise review questions of statutory construction de novo. McKinney-Drobnis v. Oreshack , 16 F.4th 594, 603 (9th Cir. 2021).

III

The CFPA "makes it unlawful for a covered person [ ] ‘to engage in any unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice.’ " CFPB v. CashCall, Inc. , 35 F.4th 734, 746 (9th Cir. 2022) (quoting 12 U.S.C. § 5536(a)(1)(B) ). Aria contends that he was not a "covered person" subject to the CFPB's authority because he merely provided nonfinancial advice on free, gift-based scholarships.

12 U.S.C. § 5481(6)(A) defines a "covered person" as "any person that engages in offering or providing a consumer financial product or service." The CFPA lists ten categories of a "consumer financial product or service" and permits the CFPB to promulgate additional definitions by regulation. See § 5481(15)(A)(i)-(xi). The eighth category is relevant here: "providing financial advisory services ... to consumers on individual financial matters or relating to proprietary financial products or services ...." § 5481(15)(A)(viii).

The CFPA does not provide a specific distinction between financial and nonfinancial activities, and the CFPB has yet to promulgate any relevant definitions or guidelines. See 12 C.F.R. §§ 1001.2, 1091.101 (2022). When a term goes undefined in a statute, we give the term its ordinary meaning. CashCall, Inc. , 35 F.4th at 746. "To determine ordinary meaning, we consider dictionary definitions." Tomczyk v. Garland , 25 F.4th 638, 644 (9th Cir. 2022) (en banc) (quoting United States v. Cox , 963 F.3d 915, 920 (9th Cir. 2020) ).

Merriam-Webster's defines the adjective "financial" as "relating to finance." Financial , MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2003). It in turn provides several definitions for the noun "finance." Some are narrowly defined in relation to debt instruments or investments, but others are broadly defined as "money or other liquid resources of [an] ... individual" or "the obtaining of funds or capital: FINANCING."Id. at Finance (n). "Financing" is likewise broadly defined as "the act or process or an instance of raising or providing funds." Id. at Financing. And the transitive verb "finance" is defined as "to raise or provide funds or capital for" (e.g., finance "a new house") or "to furnish with necessary funds" (e.g., finance "a son through college "). Id. at Finance (vt) (emphasis added).

For several reasons, we reject Aria's argument that he did not provide "financial advisory services." § 5481(15)(A)(viii). First, Aria is incorrect that scholarships are not financial in nature merely because they do not have to be repaid. As discussed, the ordinary meaning of financial is broad and encompasses both cash financing and debt financing. Indeed, the definition of "finance" specifically contemplates raising funds, regardless of their origin, for college tuition. Finance (vt), MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2003). Advising students to exhaust scholarship opportunities before taking on debt is no less "financial" than advising students to leverage their unique access to federally subsidized loans.¹

Second, the record establishes that Aria's advice extended beyond the topic of scholarships, covering the entire field of student financial aid. Although his solicitation letters focused primarily on scholarships, the booklets that Aria mailed to paying students offered advice ranging from federal student loans, grants, and work study to tax subsidies and health insurance.² He even offered advice on leveraging a family home to pay for college, and he ultimately did advise accepting student loans as...