Debt collection

NEW YORK - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office on Thursday announced the arrest of Sonia Vertucci, 42, of New Rochelle, N.Y., for falsely promising a range of services to predominately immigrant clients and collecting more than $38,000 in cash payments.

A Houston collection agency and its president and sole shareholder agreed to a federal court order and $4 million penalty for bullying consumers into paying debts and unnecessary fees.

Massena (N.Y.) Memorial Hospital board of managers approved a plan to write off more than $630,000 in bad debt for April and May.

More than 60 bills that would impact the credit and collection industry were introduced in the past six months and considered during the New York Legislature’s 2014 session that recessed last Friday.

The scams involving home-based businesses included offering payment processing services, credit card terminals and merchant cash advances to small businesses.

A federal judge has frozen the assets of an operation that swindled Spanish-speaking consumers across the U.S. by routinely sending unordered or defective products and then making it difficult, impossible or costly for consumers to obtain relief.

A former employee of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity won a whistleblower lawsuit against the state. The case involved wrongly reporting residents to collection agencies.

Legal Helpers Debt Resolution LLC has agreed to settle charges it violated West Virginia consumer protection laws by misrepresenting to consumers that its lawyers could offer debt relief in the state.

While rent represents the biggest expense each month for many consumers, the payments rarely are reported to credit bureaus, meaning they don't help people improve their credit scores.

With 23 collection agencies working on the U.S. Department of Education's student loan collection contract, and the overall market for higher education debt booming, at least one private equity giant is considering whether to acquire collection agencies involved in the growing niche.

Higher-education collection agency ConServe, regularly named a top performing company by the U.S. Department of Education, is expanding in Western New York.

The Texas-based company, owned and operated by a husband and wife, agreed to a $2.35 million penalty to settle charges it lied to consumer reporting agencies and charged consumers fees before providing any services.

DSG will pursue delinquent bills for ambulance rides under a contract approved Tuesday.

Americans were budget and money conscious with their tax returns this year, according to a survey by American Consumer Credit Counseling, a national financial education nonprofit organization.

Ocwen Financial Corp. agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle a lawsuit related to mortgage handling.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered a New Jersey company, Stonebridge Title Services Inc., to pay $30,000 for paying illegal kickbacks for referrals.

The city of Miami claims in a new lawsuit that JPMorgan Chase & Co. engaged in discriminatory lending practices for years that worsened the foreclosure crisis in minority neighborhoods during the last decade's housing crisis.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new challenge to help expand the technological arsenal that can be used in the battle against illegal phone spammers.

The lawsuit stands out as the first major legal action by a state against a credit bureau in recent years, but it may pressure other states and federal agencies to take public action.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is alerting residents about an email scam that uses her office’s name and falsely threatens prosecution to collect on supposed debts.