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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 CHELSEA 

OLDS IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL 

TRADE COMMISSION’S MOTION 

FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

 

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 65 Filed 03/05/18 Page 1 of 3

DECLARATION OF CHELSEA OLDS IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL TRADE 

COMMISSION’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

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

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DECLARATION OF CHELSEA OLDS 

1. My name is Chelsea Olds. I am a recent graduate who works as an occupational 

therapy assistant for a private health care company. The following statements are within my 

personal knowledge and if called as a witness I could and would competently testify thereto. 

2. In 2015, I graduated from college. I had a student loan of approximately $35,000 

with Nelnet, one of the federal government’s loan servicers. In 2016, I received a text message 

on my phone stating that I qualified for student loan forgiveness. I assumed the text message 

was from the federal government because it owned my loan and was the only entity that could 

change my loan terms. I was busy, so my mom called the number listed on the text message on 

my behalf. My mom told me that the person she spoke with said he could lower my monthly 

student loan payment. It sounded good, so my mom asked for more information. 

3. On September 1, 2016, I received an email from Alayna Miley, an account 

specialist at AmeriTech Financial (“AmeriTech”). Ms. Miley said my new loan payment would 

be $255 for one month, then drop down to $235 for six months, and then be $99 per month for 

the remainder of my loan term, which was 25 years. These amounts were less than my current 

loan payment so I agreed to refinance my student loan. Ms. Miley’s email also referenced the 

federal loan forgiveness programs and included a link to a speech by President Obama, further 

convincing me that I was signing up for a federal program that would lower my monthly loan 

payment. A true and correct copy of the email I received from Ms. Miley on September 1, 2016, 

with my personal information redacted, is attached as Olds Attachment A. 

4. Ms. Miley sent me a lot of documents via email, which I signed electronically. 

Shortly after I signed the documents, AmeriTech began withdrawing funds directly from my 

checking account every month. I believed these payments were going towards my student loan 

balance. I periodically received emails from AmeriTech asking me for personal and financial 

information. 

5. In June or July 2017, I received an email from Nelnet stating that I had a payment 

coming due for my student loan. I was confused because I thought I was making loan payments 

through AmeriTech. I emailed Nelnet and AmeriTech for more information. A few weeks later, 

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 65 Filed 03/05/18 Page 2 of 3
1 I received a second email from Nelnet stating I was past due on my loan payment. I called 

Nelnet and told the agent I was making loan payments through AmeriTech. The Nelnet agent 

told me that Nelnet had not received any payments from AmeriTech for my loan. She said my 

loan "had never been touched." I was shocked. 

6. After I spoke with the Nelnet representative, I called AmeriTech. The agent I 

spoke with told me that AmeriTech just handled paperwork. for loans. I would never have paid 

AmeriTech so much money ifl knew it was simply preparing paperwork that I could do myself. 

AmeriTech did not clearly explain to me what it was selling. 

7. After I learned that AmeriTech had not been making my loan payments, I was 

very upset. In July 2017, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. My complaint 

stated: "I started paying my student loans through AmeriTech Financial because they said it was

a student loan forgiveness. I've been paying them for 9 months and they have not paid [the] 

money towards my actual loan at all. My loan is still the same as when I began paying them. I 

would like a refund for all the money I paid into thinking that it was actually going towards my 

overall student loan." 

8. I paid AmeriTech approximately $1,800 that I could have used for my student 

loan. In addition, my loan amount increased because interest accrued during the time I thought 

AmeriTech was making my monthly loan payments. When I contacted AmeriTech, my loan 

balance was approximately $29,283. Now my loan balance is approximately $30,429. My loan 

bas not gone down at all. ArneriTech has not refunded my money. 

9. My experience with AmeriTech has caused me lots of stress. I realize now that 

the company played on words, such as calling everything the "program," and that was how they 

got me. AmeriTech made it seem like it was handling my loan, but it did not make a single 

payment. I would never have paid $99 a month for 25 years just for help with paperwork. 

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

on August 22, 2017 in Ripley, Tennessee. 

Chelsea 

~Q~ Olds, Declarant 

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Olds Declaration - Page 2 

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 65 Filed 03/05/18 Page 3 of 3
Olds Attachment A

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 65-1 Filed 03/05/18 Page 1 of 2
L ComPose 

lnbox (8TIS) 

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Sent 

Spam (333) 

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> Smert V1tw> 

> ro1c1.., 

> Rtctnt 

Yahoo Mail 

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AmeriTech Financial Program (3) People

Alayna MIiey <alayna.mileyC!)amoritechfi~nc,al.com> 

To •1111111111111 09/01/16 at 3:3, PM * 

Hollo C'-ilff Olds 

I •tn jus1 folk)w;ng up with you on your fntttttt in us ht-lping )'O'J with your student loins. 

Your"'"""' loon bolanco Is 129,283 00 ""'1 nolnet -• •k• yc<,r pay off amount Is $36.600 00 so"' 

!ho program Y"" 'MIi be lla.ing 1IIO uometed 1mour11 of $78()(). 

Your quot< bos4d on you°""'"' situation is l.2SS fol I month then it would drop down to S23S for an 

addrtionll , months then h will bo $99 fo, v,e ...,,..,_ of you, loln term, ,r Y""' Situation •tays tile 

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t haw induded In thrt emat av.e hnks bek>w and one WI.th lnformabon on ltl& programs and our oompeny 

With I llr« to• news ar1ide on us. 11SO a link to a Speed, tN1 Oblma made on the programs. F981 free to 

OIU rM wiU\ eny quHtlOfll my Oirec:I hne ,s 7Q7-4Q9• 3Q09 

httD/twww1rnrots:cbfin1onal comlfedi,a1·$Judent•loan h•sto ry/ 

btlQ ✓/madsrn fioanP41roor: a, mro/rtM,i<tebee/newstcead/313 JOZQJJA.mgotKb Financial Beoc 

CSCntlhYC:$ Eutty Ccmfied St udent lOM Soc:<,atists 

MRI ttY9utubtllA1h'MJhCtAY 

Alayna Miley 

Account Specialist 

AmeriTech Financial 

(800)792-8621 ext. 109 

Direct: 707-409-3009 

Email: alaxoa milev@ame:otecbfioaooal rom 

huP$ l/gOO gl/MWAJMI 

11 01 Investment Blvd. Suite 290 

El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 

Phone: (800} 792-8621 ext.109 

Fax: (8661 818-9026 

Web: www.ameritechfinancial.com 

Our Client Promise: 100% Client Satisfaction - 100% of The Time 

NOTICE: The information contained in (and attached to) this e-mail is intended 

only tor the personal and confidential use of the designated recipient(s} named 

above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are 

hereby notified that you have received this document in error and that any 

review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly 

prohibited. If you received this communication in error, please notify us 

immediately by reply e-mail, and delete the original message (including 

attachments). 

1101 Investment Blvd. Suite 290 

El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 

Phnn'"' /AM\ 7Cl?-Af',? 1 

* 

"' ~-. 

·,j 

Page 1 of 1 

https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=-

Olds Attachment A 

Case 4:18-cv-00806-SBA Document 65-1 Filed 03/05/18 Page 2 of 2