WASHINGTON (6/18/15)--The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has charged an auto loan company with aggressive debt collection practices against military servicemembers.

The CFPB announced Wednesday that it has sued Security National Automotive Acceptance Co., identified as an Ohio-based auto finance company that operates in more than two dozen states and specializes in lending to servicemembers.

The CFPB's suit alleges that the company used illegal threats and deceptive claims in order to collect debts. It charges the auto lender with such actions as falsely threatening to garnish servicemembers’ wages, misleading servicemembers about imminent legal action, and exaggerating potential disciplinary action that servicemembers would face.

The bureau said it is seeking compensation for harmed consumers, a civil penalty and an order prohibiting the company from committing future violations.

“Security National Automotive Acceptance Company took advantage of military rules to put enormous pressures on servicemembers to pay their debts,” according to CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “For all the security they provide us, servicemembers should not have their financial and career security threatened by false information from an auto loan company.”

The bureau’s complaint against the lender is not a finding or ruling that the company has actually violated the law.