A former Minnesota debt collector was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison for stealing clients money and identities and threatening physical harm. In one case, he allegedly threatened to push a disabled veteran in a wheelchair off a bridge.
Khemall "Kenny" Jokhoo, 36, whose aliases include Kevin Smith, Kevin Day and Mike Lee, ran a one-man collection agency called First Financial Services from 2002 until November 2009.
He was
U.S. District Judge David Doty said after 175 months in federal prison, Jokhoo will have five years of supervised release. Doty ordered Jokhoo to pay more than $257,000 in restitution, according to a spokesman for federal prosecutors.
Jokhoo was
Allegations about Jokhoo's aggressive collection tactics originally surfaced in October 2007 when Eugene R. Myers of Janesville, Wis., sued him and his employer in federal court.
Myers said that Jokhoo had threatened to embarrass him by having him arrested and by serving him with court papers at the church where he worked. The defendants denied wrongdoing and quickly settled the case.
The complaints continued. Edwin Galestian of La Crescenta, Calif., said he reported Jokhoo to the police for unrelenting harassment. He said Jokhoo worked through a credit bureau to change Galestian's mailing address to Minnesota, though he's never been in the state.
A judge hearing Jokhoo's licensing case found that Jokhoo or someone working with him had tricked Galestian's bank into sending him a $40,000 check, that Galestian's signature had been forged and the check deposited in an account under Jokhoo's control. The signature on the check bore a strong resemblance to Jokhoo's writing, the judge noted.