Penalty Amount
$75,500,000
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison and a bipartisan coalition of 41 state attorneys general reached a settlement with subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corporation requiring it to pay the states $75.5 million and forgive more than $630 million in consumer debt nationwide. The settlement resolves allegations that the company financed auto loans it knew or should have known consumers could not afford, and financed the sale of expensive add-on products that consumers did not know they were purchasing. The company must also fundamentally reform its lending practices, including risk disclosures, loan balance waivers for high-risk defaults, and enhanced consent and cancellation protections for add-on products.
Credit Acceptance Corporation must pay the states $75.5 million and forgive more than $630 million in consumer debt nationwide; Minnesota consumers are expected to receive more than $7.5 million in debt relief and more than $1 million in refunds. The consent judgment also requires lending reforms: disclosure to consumers when extending historically high-default-risk loans, waiver of 95% of the amount owed if those consumers default within the first 12 or 18 months, refraining from collection lawsuits against such consumers, enhanced disclosures at the time of sale for optional add-on products (such as vehicle service contracts and GAP products), and a post-sale disclosure alerting consumers to add-on purchases with a right to cancel.
In-house teams at auto finance companies, dealerships, and sellers of add-on products (vehicle service contracts, GAP products) should review dealer agreements and retail installment sale contracts for clauses governing how optional add-on products are disclosed, consented to, and cancelled. Key clauses to scrutinize include: representations and warranties that add-on products are only sold with affirmative consumer consent; disclosure requirements at point of sale; post-sale disclosure and cancellation-right procedures; indemnification allocating liability between lenders and dealers for unauthorized add-ons; loan origination and affordability standards; and debt collection and repossession practice provisions. Vendor and dealer contracts should also be checked for compliance-audit and reporting rights, and for language addressing risk-based lending disclosures and mandatory balance waivers on high-default-risk loans, since the consent judgment imposes these conduct requirements directly on the lender.
Entity
Credit Acceptance Corporation
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/09/17_Credit-Acceptance-Corp.asp
Credit Acceptance Corp Consent Judgment
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/office/Communications/2026/docs/Credit-Acceptance-Corp_Consent-Judgment.pdf
Credit Acceptance Corp Complaint
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/docs/Credit-Acceptance-Corp_Complaint.pdf
Minnesota Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/
"Credit Acceptance Corporation to pay $75 million, forgive $630 million in consumer debt to resolve alleged consumer protection violations"
"requires subprime lender Credit Acceptance Corporation to pay the states $75.5 million and forgive more than $630 million in consumer debt nationwide"
"(1) financed auto loans that it knew or should have known consumers could not afford and (2) financed the sale of expensive add-on products to auto sales that consumers did not know they were purchasing"
"a bipartisan coalition of 41 state attorneys general"
"September 17, 2026 (SAINT PAUL)"
"Minnesota consumers who were placed into risky auto loans are expected to receive more than $7.5 million in debt relief. Additional Minnesota consumers may receive more than $1 million in refunds."
$694.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined 40 other state attorneys general in a settlement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), one of the nation's largest subprime auto lenders, resolving allegations that CAC originated loans it knew or should have known consumers could not afford and encouraged or failed to prevent dealers from 'packing' CAC loans with unwanted Vehicle Service Contract (VSC) and GAP products. The settlement, announced September 17, 2026 and effective November 2, 2026, directs $694 million in cash restitution and debt relief to consumers, plus an additional $15 million to the states, and imposes injunctive lending reforms. Note: this is a consumer-protection/lending enforcement action rather than a data privacy matter; the violation categories are best-fit mappings to the available taxonomy.
$700.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James, leading a bipartisan coalition of 39 other states, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii's Office of Consumer Protection, secured a $700 million settlement from Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), a subprime auto lender, resolving allegations of deceptive and abusive lending. The lawsuit alleged CAC pushed tens of thousands of consumers into unaffordable loans with average interest rates above 38 percent, bundled with expensive add-on products consumers were told were mandatory or never told about, causing widespread defaults and vehicle repossessions. Note: this is a consumer-lending enforcement action rather than a privacy matter, so no privacy violation categories from the taxonomy apply.
$694.0M
Colorado and 40 other states entered into a settlement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), one of the nation's largest subprime auto lenders, resolving allegations that CAC originated car loans it knew or should have known consumers could not afford and that it failed to reasonably prevent dealers in its network from deceptively 'packing' Vehicle Service Contract and GAP add-on products into CAC-financed purchases. The settlement provides $694 million in cash and debt relief to consumers plus an additional $15 million to the attorneys general, and imposes injunctive reforms including loan 'off ramps,' enhanced pre-purchase and pre-loan disclosures, dealer monitoring, and a seven-year price cap at 109% of retail book value. Note: this is a consumer-lending enforcement action, not a data privacy matter; the 'dark_patterns' category is the closest available fit for the deceptive add-on sales allegations.
$694.0M
Virginia and 40 other state attorneys general settled with subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC) for $694 million in cash restitution and debt relief. The settlement resolves allegations that CAC originated loans it knew or should have known consumers could not afford, and that it encouraged and failed to prevent dealers from unlawfully 'packing' auto-loan contracts with unwanted Vehicle Service Contracts and GAP products. The Consent Judgment was filed September 17, 2026, with the City of Richmond Circuit Court.
$694.0M
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced a $694 million multistate settlement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), a subprime auto lender, resolving allegations that CAC originated unaffordable loans and allowed dealers to 'pack' unwanted Vehicle Service Contracts and Guaranteed Asset Protection products into consumer loans. The settlement provides $60 million in cash restitution, $634 million in debt relief, and injunctive reforms including off ramps for risky loans, enhanced disclosures, and dealer monitoring.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a bipartisan coalition of 16 attorneys general in a letter to U.S. Senate Banking Committee leaders opposing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, warning it would strip states of their ability to combat cryptocurrency scams and fraud. The letter cites over $10 million in crypto scam losses by Minnesotans in 18 months and urges Congress to preserve state registration regimes and enforcement authority. No company was charged and no penalty was imposed; this is legislative advocacy rather than an enforcement action.