Debt Collector Facing 20 Years in Prison for Collection Scams

Debt collector
Debt collector John Williams, owner of Williams, Scott & Associates LLC, a debt collection firm, told his employees to coerce consumers into paying money they did not owe, according to article in Reuters, by Nate Raymond.   Employees at Williams’ firm falsely claimed to be a “detective” or “investigator,” or tied to government agencies. Consumers were also told they could be arrested or face prison time if they refused to pay.  LIES!!
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Paul Williams’ firm defrauded 6,000 customers from 2009 to 2014 into paying about $4.1 million by misrepresenting how much they owed and by falsely claiming they could face prison time.  In late 2014 the FBI raided the debt collector and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to halt its operation.
Debt collector firms such as Williams’ buy delinquent debts, often for just pennies on the dollar, and try to collect the full amount the original lender claimed. Many of these debts are, by law, uncollectable, such as discharged in bankruptcy or outside the statute of limitations.
This focus on illegal activities of debt collectors comes as a result of consumers filing so many debt collector complaints that it is now listed as the No. 1 most-complained about area of consumer financial services, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “CFPB”.
The case is U.S. v. Williams, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-cr-00784.
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