The FTC sued NERD Solutions Inc., ED REF Inc., and their operators Natalie Rodriguez and Pablo Ortiz in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charging violations of the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Impersonation Rule, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The court entered a temporary restraining order on April 13, 2026.
Since at least February 2022, the defendants allegedly cold-called consumers, thousands of whom were on the National Do Not Call list, while posing as the U.S. Department of Education or borrowers’ actual loan servicers. The false affiliation was the mechanism: it lured consumers into paying upfront monthly fees as high as $1,400 for student loan debt relief that didn’t exist. The scheme’s total take: at least $8.8 million from consumers already burdened with massive student loan debt.
The four-statute charge sheet reflects the scope of the alleged conduct. The Impersonation Rule, which prohibits falsely claiming government or business affiliation, directly addresses the core scheme. The Telemarketing Sales Rule and FTC Act cover the illegal upfront fees and Do Not Call violations. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act rounds out the charges.
The FTC’s 2-0 vote to file followed substantial investigative assistance from the Ohio Office of the Attorney General. The temporary restraining order halts the defendants’ operations while the court decides the case on the merits.
James Okafor