Washington ? The government is suing one of the largest credit counseling companies, charging Wednesday that AmeriDebt used deceptive marketing to bilk hundreds of thousands of people.

AmeriDebt touts itself as “the friend of consumers in crisis,” but the Federal Trade Commission alleged the company hid fees and did not educate people about how to get out of debt.

The FTC, which filed the lawsuit in federal court, also claimed the Germantown, Md.-based company falsely described itself as a nonprofit organization.

“We will not allow consumers to be duped into ‘contributing’ hundreds of dollars to these so-called ‘nonprofits,'” Howard Beales, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.

“There was nothing voluntary and nothing charitable about these payments. Consumers’ money didn’t go to creditors, it just ended up lining the pockets of the defendants.”

AmeriDebt would not comment on the lawsuit.