Holly Petraeus Warns Camp Pendleton Families of Financial Threats

Holly Petraeus held two town-hall meetings on Camp Pendleton Friday with 300 Marines and some of their spouses to discuss financial literacy and to raise awareness on predatory tactics of vendors and lenders.

Last year, Petraeus—who is married to former Army General and CIA director David Petraeus—took charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Servicemember Affairs office.

Service members are targeted with predatory business tactics because they’re a dependable source and are required by military law to pay debts, she told reporters before the meetings.

“They get a guaranteed paycheck,” she said.

She warned against some of the top threats to military families:

• For-profit colleges:  Money from the G.I. Bill meets federally mandated requirements for these schools, she said, adding that they have more resources to target veterans. Because they operate on a revenue model, they can dedicate more of their money to marketing,” she said.
• Advance-fee scams: This is where service members apply for a loan and are required to pay a “deposit.” Once the money is paid, the “lenders” can’t be reached and keep the money.
• Allotments:  Some lenders require borrowers to allow a payment to be made directly from the paycheck. This benefits the business more than the service member, she said.

Service members may run into additional problems soon when there are fewer deployments, she said. Many families have gotten used to extra combat pay and fewer taxes.

"It's going to make it that much harder to make ends meat on pretty much their basic salary,” she said.

Petraeus also had a working lunch with base leadership and community agencies that work closely with service members—including the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, according to a base spokesman.

On Saturday, she was the guest speaker at the 2013 Central District of CA Judicial Conference at the Dana Point, Laguna Cliffs Resort and Spa, the spokesman added. 

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