Suthers Says Colorado Joins "Operation Clean Sweep"

Colorado attorney general John Suthers today announced that his office would participate in a joint effort with the Federal Trade Commission and 22 other states to root out unlawful credit repair practices in 33 businesses nationwide.

As part of the operation, called "Operation Clean Sweep," the state has entered into settlement agreements with two Colorado credit service organizations.

“Especially in today’s credit market, gaining and maintaining good credit is an increasingly important part of financial stability,” Suthers said. “Unfortunately, several disreputable businesses prey on consumers whose credit is less-than ideal, and we will continue to hold them accountable for their deception.”

Suthers has settled cases involving Aurora’s Integrity Credit Fix, Inc., and My Purchase Power, LLC, located in Northglenn. Each company charged fees prior to the completion of their services and failed to provide all required disclosures. Both companies have agreed to stop violating the Colorado Credit Services Organization Act (CSOA).

A dozen other investigations are ongoing.

Credit repair companies typically claim they can erase or repair bad credit. These claims are particularly popular during times of economic hardship when consumers are most vulnerable. Despite these representations, no entity can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act allow credit bureaus to report accurate negative information for seven years, and bankruptcies for ten years.

Ritter, Kennedy Say Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Are Available for Higher Ed Construction

Gov. Bill Ritter and state treasurer Cary Kennedy are expected to announce today that the state's colleges and universities will have more than $200 million available for 12 construction projects.

The state raised the money through sales of "Certificates of Participation" Wednesday and today.

The construction projects, authorized by SB 08-218, SB 08-233 and HJR 08-1042, are:

1. University of Northern Colorado: Butler-Hancock Renovation

2. Colorado Northwestern Community College: Academic Building, Craig Campus

3. Colorado State University at Pueblo: Academic Resources Center Remodel

4. Colorado School of Mines: Brown Hall Addition

5. CSU Fort Collins: Clark Building Revitalization

6. Auraria Higher Education Campus: Science Building

7. Western State College: Taylor Hall Renovation and Addition

8. Mesa State College: Wubben Hall Expansion and Renovation

9. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs: Renovation of Science Building

10. Morgan Community College: Nursing, Technology & Science Building

11. Front Range Community College, Larimer Campus: Science Classroom Project

12. Fort Lewis College: Berndt Hall Reconstruction