Eric Caldwell and David Hernandez will be permanently banned from the debt relief industry and required to turn over their assets to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that they helped operate an illegal student loan debt-relief operation. Additionally, Caldwell will be banned from the telemarketing industry, and Hernandez will be prohibited from violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

In its early 2025 amended complaint, the FTC alleged that Nevada-based Superior Servicing, along with several other companies, and their operators, Caldwell, Hernandez, and Dennise Merdjanian, pretended to be affiliated with the Department of Education or its loan servicers to convince student loan borrowers about the legitimacy of their student loan debt-relief program. They required borrowers pay upfront fees that they claimed would be applied to consumers' student loan balances, when, in reality, they were pocketing consumers' hard-earned money.

Individual defendants Caldwelland Hernandezhave agreed to settle the FTC's charges in proposed orders banning them from engaging in the debt relief industry. Additionally, Caldwell's proposed order bans him from engaging in telemarketing, and Hernandez's proposed order prohibits him from violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Furthermore, the proposed orders prohibit both of them from:

• falsely claiming to be affiliated with any person, corporation, or government entity;
• charging consumers illegal upfront fees;
• making any misrepresentations about other products or services; and
• using false statements to collect consumers' financial information.

The proposed orders impose a monetary judgment of more than $45.9 million that will be partially suspended, due to the defendants' inability to pay, after they pay more than $1.6 million and turn over approximately $560,000 in personal and business assets. If either defendant is found to have materially misrepresented their finances, the full amount of the monetary judgment would become immediately due.

Litigation continues against Merdjanian and the corporate defendants.

The FTC has resources on how to avoid student loan debt relief scams at ftc.gov/StudentLoans. Consumers can get assistance with their student loans for free at StudentAid.gov.

The Commission vote approving the stipulated final orders was 3-0.The FTC filed the proposed orders in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Stipulated final orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court Judge.

The lead staff attorneys on this matter were Luis Gallegos and Reid Tepfer of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection assisted by FTC Investigator Kelle Slaughter.