Pressler & Pressler, LLP Fined $1M for Illegal Collections

ILLEGAL DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES BY PRESSLER & PRESSLER, LLP AND DEBT BUYER
Release from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “CFPB”:
Presser & Pressler, LLP, a law firm, Sheldon H. Pressler and Gerard J. Felt, the firm’s two principal partners, and New Century Financial Services, Inc., a debt buyer, were ordered to stop churning out unfair and deceptive debt collection lawsuits.  Most of these lawsuits were on little to no evidence that a debt was owed. The consent orders bar the companies and individuals from illegal practices that can deceive or intimidate consumers, such as filing lawsuits without determining if debts in question are valid. The orders also require the firm and the named partners to pay $1 million, and New Century to pay $1.5 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Civil Penalty Fund.

“For years, Pressler & Pressler churned out one lawsuit after another to collect debts for New Century that were not verified and might not exist,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Debt collectors that file lawsuits with no regard for their validity break the law and violate the public trust. We will continue to take action to protect borrowers from abuse.”

According to CFPB Pressler & Pressler, LLP is a New Jersey-based law firm that collects consumers’ debts for creditors through lawsuits and other means. New Century Financial Services, also based in New Jersey, buys and collects defaulted consumer debts, then hands those accounts off to Pressler & Pressler for collection, who filed hundreds of thousands of lawsuits against consumers. Attorneys generally spent less than a few minutes, sometimes less than 30 seconds, reviewing each case before initiating a lawsuit.
The CFPB found that the parties:

• Made false or empty allegations about consumer debts
• Filed lawsuits based on unreliable or false information
• Harassed consumers with unsubstantiated court filings

Read more of this article, plus a copy of the consent agreement
This action continues the Bureau’s work to address illegal debt collection practices across the consumer financial marketplace, including companies that sell, buy, and collect debt. In recent separate enforcement actions, the CFPB has ordered large banks, credit card issuers, debt buyers, and firms to overhaul their debt collection practices and refund millions to harmed consumers. The Bureau will continue working to ensure all players in the collections market treat consumers fairly.
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