Published
September 30, 2026
Updated
October 1, 2026
People who signed a Credit Repair Services Agreement with Earn Company, Earn Finance Company LLC or Credit Exterminators Inc. on or after February 10, 2016 will be paid about $60 each automatically from the $125,000 Credit Exterminators credit repair class action settlement; there is no claim form to file. The final approval hearing is set for January 20, 2027, and the defendants have up to two years after approval to pay the fund in monthly installments.
Current Status
There is no claim form and no claim deadline in this settlement. Payment is automatic for everyone in the class whose notice was not returned as undeliverable. The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County authorized notice of the proposed settlement, and the Settlement Administrator has been sending it by email and mail. The deadline to object is December 26, 2026. The final approval hearing is set for January 20, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 636. No final approval order had been entered as of September 30, 2026, and no payment date has been set. Because the defendants fund the settlement in monthly installments over about two years after approval, checks are not expected soon.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Pending Final Approval
Hearing set for January 20, 2027 · Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
Claim Deadline
None — Payment Is Automatic
Object by December 26, 2026 · optional electronic-payment or address request through the Settlement Administrator
Estimated Payout
About $60
An equal share of the $125,000 fund after expenses, split among 1,434 class members · the notice calls this an expectation, not a guarantee
Proof Required
Automatic Payment
No claim form to file · a check is mailed to the address in the defendants' records unless you ask for another payment method
What Changed Recently?
The parties signed the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release on May 20, 2026, less than two weeks before a bench trial that had been scheduled to begin June 1, 2026, and the Court has since authorized notice to the class. The case is Christina Atterbury v. Earn Company, et al., No. 210400637, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. It was filed in April 2021, and the Court certified it as a class action by order docketed April 18, 2023. Class members may remember a first notice from that certification in 2023.The complaint alleges that the defendants violated the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) by using customer contracts that contained provisions the statute prohibits and by charging upfront fees before any credit repair work was performed, which the Act forbids. The named defendants are Earn Company, Earn Finance Company LLC, Credit Exterminators Inc., Sprinkle of Jesus Corp., and four individuals: Casey Olivera, known online as Dana Chanel; Donnell Morris, known as Prince Donnell; Cassandra Olivera, known as April; and Nakia Rattray, known as Uncle Majic the Hip Hop Magician. The defendants deny that they violated any law, say the claims against the individual defendants in particular are legally baseless, and have not admitted liability. No court has ruled on the merits.
The reason the case is settling for $125,000 is stated plainly in the agreement. During trial preparation the defendants represented that they could not pay a judgment, the plaintiff conducted court-approved asset discovery that was consistent with insolvency, and the defendants hired bankruptcy counsel. Class Counsel concluded that a trial win would likely produce nothing collectable, and that a modest settlement paid over time was better than a judgment against a bankrupt defendant.
This is a separate matter from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's civil enforcement action, filed in November 2021 against Credit Exterminators, Earn Company, Casey Olivera and related parties over the same credit repair business and an app development business. That action was reported to have settled with restitution, legal fees and civil penalties, and a ban on the defendants selling credit repair or app services, without an admission of wrongdoing. Money paid to the state in that matter is not part of this class fund.
Who Qualifies?
The class was fixed by the Court's April 18, 2023 certification order: all persons in the United States with whom Earn Company, Earn Finance Company LLC, or Credit Exterminators Inc. entered into a Credit Repair Services Agreement beginning on February 10, 2016. Based on the defendants' customer records, there are 1,434 class members.Membership comes from the defendants' records, not from anything a customer submits. If you received the notice by email or mail, the defendants' records show you signed one of those agreements on or after February 10, 2016. There is no end date on the class period in the certification order, so later customers are included as long as they are in the records. Customers of the same people's other businesses, such as the app development company named in the Attorney General's case, are not covered unless they also signed a credit repair agreement.
One qualification matters for payment. The agreement pays "Cash Payment Eligible Class Members," defined as class members whose notice was not returned as undeliverable. The Settlement Administrator runs address updates through the postal service's change-of-address database and may use other location tools, but a class member who has moved and never updated an address can fall out of the paid group. Updating an address with the administrator through the official website is the one step worth taking.
How Much Can You Get?
The notice says payments are expected to be about $60 per class member. That figure is an estimate built from the settlement's arithmetic, and it can move a little in either direction.| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross settlement fund, paid by the defendants over time | $125,000 |
| Class Counsel attorney's fees | $0 — none requested |
| Class Counsel litigation expenses, subject to Court approval | up to $24,000 |
| Service award to the class representative, subject to Court approval | $1,000 |
| Notice and administration costs, which the agreement expects to be no more than | $15,000 |
| Net fund of roughly $85,000, split equally among up to 1,434 paid class members | about $60 each |
Anything left 180 days after checks go out, mostly uncashed checks, does not go back to the defendants. Half goes to the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account program for civil legal aid, and half to the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network for consumer credit work.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
None to be paid. There is no claim form, no notice ID to enter, no receipts and no documentation step. A class member who does nothing is paid by check at the address in the defendants' records, as updated by the administrator. That is why this page is marked Automatic Payment rather than proof-required.The notice describes one optional choice: a class member who would rather be paid electronically than by check can promptly tell the Settlement Administrator and provide whatever information the administrator needs to send that payment. The official website is the place to make that request. It is optional, and not making it does not affect whether you are paid.
What Are the Key Dates?
The notice gives dates without an official timezone, so only the dates are published here.- December 26, 2026 — deadline to mail a written objection. It must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator, Class Counsel and Defendants' Counsel at the addresses printed in the notice, say that you object to the settlement in Atterbury v. Earn Company, No. 210400637, give your reasons, and include your name, address, telephone number, email if you have one, and signature.
- January 20, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. — final approval hearing in Courtroom 636 of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The Court will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate and will rule on the expense request and service award. You do not have to attend, and you may ask the Court for permission to speak.
- Within 10 business days of final approval — the defendants pay the first $25,000 into the fund, on top of $2,500 already paid toward notice costs.
- Monthly from the effective date — the defendants pay $4,166 on the 15th of each month until their payments reach $125,000. The effective date is 37 days after the final approval order if nobody appeals, or later if someone does.
- Distribution date — the earlier of 14 days after the fund is fully paid or 24 months after the effective date. Checks are mailed on or about this date and are valid for 90 days.
Put together, that schedule means checks are unlikely before 2029 even if approval and payments go exactly to plan. The agreement gives the defendants a 30-day cure period if they miss a monthly payment, after which the entire unpaid balance becomes due at once, and it requires them to apply any inheritance, stimulus check or tax refund they receive toward the fund without reducing the monthly obligation. The defendants are jointly and severally liable for the whole amount.
How Do You Take Action?
For most class members the right action is none. Stay in the class and a check follows once the fund is paid in. The optional steps all run through the official settlement website at Credit Exterminators Class Action.com, which carries the notice, the settlement agreement and a contact form for the administrator.- Update your address. If you have moved since you dealt with the companies, tell the Settlement Administrator through the website. An undeliverable notice can take you out of the paid group, and a check that comes back undelivered is only resent if the administrator can find a better address.
- Ask for electronic payment. The default is a mailed check. The notice says you may promptly contact the administrator to request one of the other payment methods it offers.
- Object. Mail a written objection by December 26, 2026 following the requirements above. An objector does not have to appear at the hearing, and may hire a lawyer at their own expense.
- Name change or a deceased class member. The website's FAQ covers how to document a marriage, divorce or court-ordered name change and how an estate representative is paid. The administrator may ask for a death certificate or estate papers and a sworn statement.
You are not charged for Class Counsel. Nobody legitimate will ask you to pay a fee to receive this payment.
What Happens Next?
The next milestone is the January 20, 2027 final approval hearing. A hearing being scheduled is not a ruling, and the Court can approve, reject or ask for changes. If the settlement is approved, any appeal pushes the effective date back, and the two-year payment plan runs from the effective date. The administrator's notice asks class members to be patient for exactly that reason. The settlement website is where any change to the hearing date, the approval order and the payment timeline will be posted.If the defendants default on the payment plan, the agreement accelerates the balance, but collecting from parties who have already represented that they are insolvent is not guaranteed. That risk is the reason the class is taking $125,000 now rather than pursuing a larger judgment.
Sources and Verification
- Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release, Atterbury v. Earn Company, et al., No. 210400637 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. Phila. Cty.), signed May 20, 2026, with the proposed email notice, mail notice and final approval order attached, embedded below.
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement and FAQ, official settlement website: Credit Exterminators Class Action.com.
- Court's Order dated April 18, 2023 certifying the class, as described in the agreement and notice.
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Credit Exterminators, Inc., et al., complaint filed by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, November 4, 2021: Office of Attorney General complaint (PDF).
- Reporting on the Attorney General's settlement with Casey Olivera (Dana Chanel) and related defendants: 6abc Philadelphia.
Questions
Do I need to file a claim in the Credit Exterminators settlement?
No. There is no claim form. Everyone in the certified class is paid automatically by check after the Court grants final approval and the defendants fund the settlement, as long as the notice mailed to them was not returned as undeliverable. The only optional steps are asking the Settlement Administrator for an electronic payment instead of a check, updating a mailing address, or objecting by December 26, 2026.
Why is the payment only about $60?
The settlement fund is $125,000 and there are 1,434 class members. Class Counsel are not asking for attorney's fees, but up to $24,000 in litigation expenses, a $1,000 service award for the class representative and the cost of notice and administration come out first, and the rest is split equally. The settlement papers say the defendants appear to be insolvent and had hired bankruptcy counsel, and that the class would likely have recovered nothing after a trial win. Sixty dollars is the amount the parties agreed the defendants could actually pay.
When will Credit Exterminators settlement checks be mailed?
Not soon. The defendants pay $25,000 within ten business days of final approval, then $4,166 a month on the 15th until the $125,000 fund is complete, which takes about two years. Checks go out on the earlier of 14 days after the fund is fully paid or 24 months after the settlement's effective date. If the Court approves the settlement at the January 20, 2027 hearing and nobody appeals, checks are unlikely before 2029. Checks are valid for 90 days after mailing.
Is this the same case as the Pennsylvania Attorney General's action against Dana Chanel?
No. The Attorney General filed a separate civil enforcement action in November 2021 against Credit Exterminators, Earn Company and related parties, which was reported to have settled with restitution and a ban on selling credit repair services. This class action was brought by a customer in April 2021 under the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act, and its $125,000 fund is separate from anything the Attorney General recovered. Being paid in one does not affect the other.
What do I give up by staying in the settlement?
On the effective date, every class member releases the defendants from the Settled Claims, meaning the Credit Repair Organizations Act claims raised in this lawsuit about the credit repair agreements. Because the class was certified in 2023 and the opt-out period ran then, this notice offers the right to object but not a new opt-out window. A class member who wants to pursue those claims separately should speak to a lawyer before the December 26, 2026 objection deadline.
Settlement Agreement
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Settlement Amount
$125,000, paid over about two years
Case Title
Christina Atterbury v. Earn Company, et al.
Case Number
210400637
Court
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Final Approval Hearing
January 20, 2027 at 10:00 AM
Courtroom 636
Administrator
American Legal Claim Services, LLC
Official Website
Credit Exterminators Class Action.com
