On November 10, 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the owner of a debt collection company was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $3.9 million in restitution to consumers.
After a five day trial, the jury found that between 2009 and May 2014, the owner of the company and the co-conspirators who worked for him committed wire fraud by making false statements and false threats in order to deceive over 6,000 consumers into repaying their debt. The jury found that employees described themselves as “detectives,” “the warrant squad,” or “investigators” and told consumers they would be arrested if they did not repay. Consumers who had repaid their debt were also told they must continue paying money or face prison time.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that the case was referred to them by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
