Consumer finance regulator fines JPMorgan $136 million for unfair debt collection practices

JPMorgan Chase will pay $136 million to settle charges that it used illegal tactics to go after delinquent credit card borrowers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges the bank illegally relied on robo-signing — signing mass quantities of documents — and provided inaccurate information to third-party debt collectors when it sold the accounts. The bureau also said that Chase filed misleading lawsuits using inaccurate information to obtain debt collection judgments.

Under the terms of the agreement announced Wednesday, JPMorgan will refund $50 million to affected consumers and pay $136 million in fines to the bureau, 47 states and District of Columbia. The bank will permanently halt collecting on 528,000 accounts.

It will have to pay a separate $30 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency.