Employees of one of the largest credit repair companies in America discovered the alleged dark past of their new CEO and just 13 days later he was gone.
Credit.com — a conglomerate that helps people reduce or eliminate their credit card debt by negotiating with creditors — introduced its new CEO on June 11 as Rams Meijer, current and former employees told The Salt Lake Tribune.
But a simple Google search revealed that Ramses Meijer was accused by a number of his former colleagues of ‘increasingly making sexual comments and physical behavior’.
As news of his sexual misconduct spread through the workplace, some employees said they feared for their safety and several threatened to fire them, the Tribune reported.
For many employees of Credit.com, which had been in trouble for years after the company was sued by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau in 2019, this was the last straw.
Ramses Meijer was introduced as the new CEO of Credit.com on June 11, but was gone within two weeks
Credit repair companies are not allowed to charge customers until they have negotiated with creditors under a provision of the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule.
According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the setup fees or cash advance fees charged by Credit.com’s parent company, PGX Holdins, and its subsidiaries may be illegal.
In March 2023, a federal judge in Utah banned Credit.com, a conglomerate that included Progrexion, Credit.com, CreditRepair.com and Lexington Law, from telemarketing for 10 years and subsequently ordered a nearly $2.7 billion settlement.
Additionally, Progrexion was fined $45.8 million and Lexington Law received an $18 million settlement.
“Credit repair giants” had plans to “line their pockets with billions in fees,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said afterward.
“This scam is yet another sign that we need to do more to improve the credit reporting and scoring system in our country.”
Credit.com — a conglomerate that helps people reduce or eliminate their credit card debt by negotiating with creditors — was sued by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau in 2019
After paying the hefty fines, the companies closed their call centers and laid off nearly 1,000 people.
However, the situation worsened when two Utah workers independently filed a lawsuit against Progrexion alleging the company failed to send a WARN notice, which requires employers to provide at least 60 days’ written notice of impending mass layoffs.
The companies subsequently filed for bankruptcy, which halted the WARN Act lawsuits and delayed the settlement.
Meanwhile, the company’s executives received bonuses, with former CEO Chad Wallace receiving a $577,000 bonus in June 2023.
Months later, Credit.com Holdings LLC mounted an action to protect the interests of the lenders and purchased the assets of Progrexion and related companies out of bankruptcy.
Blue Torch Finance has also signed on to manage the company’s assets.
Many of Credit.com’s remaining employees are former employees of Progrexion or Lexington Law.
But all told, the conglomerate, which once had several thousand employees, now has just 200.
Even more people were laid off last month.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau argued that the conglomerate violated federal law by charging customers fees until it negotiated with the credit card companies
To turn the tide, Meijer was hired as Wallace’s replacement.
But a simple search turned up a May 2023 appeals court ruling on a sexual misconduct complaint. That case was settled privately, with all documents filed prior to the settlement.
The ruling found that online travel company Orbitz Worldwide (owned by Expedia Group) hired the company where the plaintiffs worked, Havas, to create an advertising and marketing campaign.
Meijer worked for Orbitz and was responsible for project management on their behalf.
Former CEO Chad Wallace received a $577,000 bonus in June 2023
But while working on the project, the Havas employees soon found themselves the victims of “regular sexual comments and unwanted physical contact,” escalating to alleged sexual assaults at an Expedia-sponsored event, according to court documents obtained by the Tribune.
The plaintiffs reached a private settlement with Havas, and a judge ruled that the settlement meant Orbitz would have to pay less in a separate settlement under Illinois law.
However, the claimants disagreed and asked the court to quash this decision.
They claimed that each employer protected Meijer and enabled his alleged predatory behavior. However, they argued that the consequences of each company’s complicity were different and should be treated separately.
However, the court upheld the original ruling in favor of the companies.
As the court documents spread among Credit.com employees, some reportedly filed formal complaints with HR, while others stopped returning to the office.
Some even said they did not want to meet Meijer personally or at all. Several threatened to resign if he kept his position.
“This was the icing on the cake,” former employee Taisia Auston told the Tribune.
“I felt like the universe was saying something, ‘You have to go.’”
Ultimately, just 13 days after the new CEO was introduced, Lee Hastel, a partner at Blue Torch and a board member of Credit.com, told staff that Meijer would be leaving the company.
According to the Tribune, he claimed the board was unaware of Meijer’s past and announced that Scott Mackley would serve as interim CEO.
Some employees said they believed Hastel and took his statements seriously, saying there were still things worth fighting for.
Kensey Slone, for example, said she is proud of the culture she and her colleagues have helped create, calling it supportive, uplifting and diverse.
“We really care about each other.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Credit.com, Meijer and the company he now works for, WerkMagic, for comment.
