Collection Agency Settles Charges

Credit Bureau Collection Services, a Columbus, Ohio, collection agency, will pay a civil fine of $1.1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law by inaccurately reporting credit information and pushed consumers to pay debts they often did not owe, FTC officials said.

The company and two of its officers, Larry Ebert and Brian Striker, illegally tried to collect invalid debts and then reported them to the credit reporting agencies without noting that consumers disputed them, according to the FTC's complaint.