Benjamin Zachary Konop (born March 1, 1976)[1] is a Senior Litigation Counsel in the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington, D.C.

[3] Konop's interview about his political career and the incident was part of The Huffington Post's 2017 Webby nominated podcast series “Candidate Confessional” with Sam Stein and Jason Cherkis.

[3] Konop also ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic Party candidate in Ohio's 4th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in 2004.

[4] While at the firm, he assisted in the launch of a mentoring program for at-risk junior high school students in Washington, D.C.[4] In 2004, Democrat Konop ran against the incumbent Republican U. S. Representative Mike Oxley, of the 4th congressional district of Ohio.

[13] Konop also authored a resolution for greater transparency of politicians’ campaign donors, passed a policy against nepotism in county hiring, and led a community effort to preserve the Children's Wonderland exhibit.

[6] In 2009, Konop objected to the lack of economic and racial diversity on the Lucas County Planning Commission and gave up his own position on the board to Jim Snodgrass, Jr, an African American UAW factory worker at Jeep[14] In spring of 2009, Konop revealed his proposal for a $70 million publicly funded scholarship program aimed to increase the number of college-educated county residents without raising taxes.

[15] In defense, Konop cited his greater obligation to bring changes urgently needed in Toledo, which has seen higher unemployment, increase in foreclosure problems, more possibility of police layoffs, and a larger deficit since 2006.

[16] Konop's campaign for mayor received unflattering local and national attention thanks to a YouTube video in which he is repeatedly heckled during a news conference.

[17][18] Following his term as Commissioner, Konop was employed as a columnist for the Toledo Blade where he covered the Detroit Tigers,[19] Bob Dylan's first ever concerts in China and Vietnam,[20] and the first 2011 Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire.

[24][25] In a related case where Konop served as lead Bureau counsel, military veterans, many of them disabled, who lost their pensions will receive over $9 million in compensation.

Village Capital, a lawsuit against a mortgage lender accused of deceiving military veterans into refinancing their mortgages that resulted in a $260,000 fine and full restitution to all veterans who were victims of the deception,[29] and CFPB vs. Top Notch in which the CFPB alleged that the defendants offered deceptive loans to injured former NFL players, victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and 9/11 first responders.

This work helped lead to a suspension and reorganization of the performance management review system and $5.5 million in back pay being awarded to employees.

[37] On May 21, 2014, the House Financial Services Committee on Oversight, chaired by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), conducted a congressional hearing on issues related to discrimination at the CFPB under the Democratic administration leading the Bureau.

Konop was subpoenaed by the committee as a witness and testified before Congress, highlighting his union members' concerns under Director Richard Cordray regarding pay equity and disparate impact affecting minorities, women, and employees over 40.