1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 

 6 

 7 

 8 

 9 

 10 

 11 

 12 

 13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 19 

 20 

 21 

 22 

 23 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 

DAVID C. SHONKA

Acting General Counsel

SARAH SCHROEDER, Cal. Bar No. 221528 

ROBERTA TONELLI, Cal. Bar No. 278738 

EVAN ROSE, Cal. Bar No. 253478 

Federal Trade Commission

901 Market Street, Suite 570 

San Francisco, CA 94103 

sschroeder@ftc.gov, rtonelli@ftc.gov, erose@ftc.gov

Tel: (415) 848-5100; Fax: (415) 848-5184 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

OAKLAND DIVISION

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, 

 Plaintiff,

 vs. 

AMERICAN FINANCIAL BENEFITS 

CENTER, a corporation, also d/b/a AFB and AF 

STUDENT SERVICES; 

AMERITECH FINANCIAL, a corporation; 

 

FINANCIAL EDUCATION BENEFITS 

CENTER, a corporation; and

BRANDON DEMOND FRERE, individually 

and as an officer of AMERICAN FINANCIAL 

BENEFITS CENTER, AMERITECH 

FINANCIAL, and FINANCIAL EDUCATION 

BENEFITS CENTER,

 

 Defendants. 

 

Case No. 4:18-cv-00806-SBA

DECLARATION OF CRAIG DAVIS

IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL TRADE 

COMMISSION’S MOTION FOR 

PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 29 Filed 03/02/18 Page 1 of 3

DECLARATION OF CRAIG DAVIS IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL TRADE 

COMMISSION’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

 4:18-CV-00806-SBA
Davis Declaration - Page 1 

 1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 

 6 

 7 

 8 

 9 

 10 

 11 

 12 

 13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 19 

 20 

 21 

 22 

 23 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 

DECLARATION OF CRAIG DAVIS 

1. My name is Craig Davis. I work for LORD Manufacturing Company and live in

Erie, Pennsylvania. The following statements are within my personal knowledge and if called as 

a witness I could and would competently testify thereto. 

2. I worked for Hammermill Paper Company for over 20 years and earned around

$40,000 per year. When the plant closed, I went to a trade school (Universal Technical Institute) 

and acquired around $50,000 in student debt. I was the oldest student at the school and 

graduated at the top of my class with a 3.97 GPA. My understanding was that the federal 

government would pay for my education through the Trade Act Program, but program 

administrator said my school was not properly accredited. 

3. Sometime around summer 2016, I received a mailer stating that I qualified for a

reduced student loan payment. I called the number listed on the mailer and spoke with someone 

who said he could help me reduce my loan payment. I later learned that the number I called was 

for a company called AmeriTech Financial (“AmeriTech”). I do not recall the specifics of the 

conversation because the AmeriTech agent gave me a lot of information very quickly. Based on 

the agent’s statements, I believed my student loan payment would be reduced to $0 or $20,000. 

The agent also promised me 100% client satisfaction. 

4. While I was on the phone with the AmeriTech agent, he emailed me many

documents. I opened the documents on my computer. Some documents appeared to be contracts 

and forms. All the fields on the forms were blank. The AmeriTech agent quickly discussed the 

documents with me and told me where to sign electronically. He said he would fill in the 

information on the forms later. I did not understand the electronic signature, but trusted the 

AmeriTech agent and followed his instructions. Everything was going so fast that I did not have 

time to read every document. I expected AmeriTech to send me the paperwork in the mail so I 

could properly review the documents and sign a final version. 

5. A few weeks after my call with the AmeriTech agent, my bank called to me to

report a bounced transaction. I was surprised to learn that AmeriTech had withdrawn $207 from 

my checking account. I was not aware that AmeriTech was going to automatically withdrawn 

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 29 Filed 03/02/18 Page 2 of 3
1 funds from my bank account and was not prepared for the payment. I had not even signed a fina

agreement. I had to pay a fee to my bank due to the bounced transaction. 

6. In July 2016, I called AmeriTech and demanded a refund. AmeriTech initially 

offered me only a $100 refund, so I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau ("BBB"). 

After I filed the complaint with the BBB, AmeriTech gave me a full refund. AmeriTech also 

urged me to withdraw my complaint with the BBB. I was not 100% satisfied with AmeriTech's 

service and did not want to withdraw my complaint. 

7. In 2016 or 2017, my computer crashed. As a result, I do not have copies of the 

documents AmeriTech emailed me or my correspondence with the company. 

8. I am still sorting out my student loan. Every day I receive phone calls, from 

different phone number, saying I qualify for a reduced student loan payment. Many of the 

callers imply that they are my student loan servicer and say things like "this is our last attempt to 

contact you." When I tell the callers that I am not interested and try to hang up, they continue 

talking and say things like "you're not interested in saving money?" I am frustrated by this 

entire experience and do not know who to trust. 

9. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed 

on August ·1'.1, 2017 in Erie, Pennsylvania. 

l 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

c~K-~ 

Declarant 

Davis Declaration - Page 2 

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 29 Filed 03/02/18 Page 3 of 3