Yeah but you're still charged with something and it's still on your record. It would be more like if you could write the gov't a check to 'pretend this never happened', with nothing on your record, and probably a written promise from the gov't that they'll never say anything bad about you.
> Yeah but you're still charged with something and it's still on your record.
Not if its a civil settlement.
> It would be more like if you could write the gov't a check to 'pretend this never happened', with nothing on your record, and probably a written promise from the gov't that they'll never say anything bad about you.
The government says negative things about firms that enter into a settlement without admitting to guilt all the time, including about the specific conduct that led to the investigation that was settled.
In fact, in this specific case, the CFPB said all kinds of negative things about PayPal and the actions that led to this settlement in the press release announcing the settlement. [0]
So, its hardly at all analogous to "a written promise from the gov't that they'll never say anything bad about you".
The consent decree also includes additional restrictions (beyond those in the law) on and oversight of PayPal's behavior going forward, so its also very much not analogous to "pretend this never happened".
