Twelve individuals who worked for a group of Buffalo, N.Y. area collection agencies were charged yesterday with grand larceny after allegedly posing as law enforcement officials and threatening debtors with jail if they did not pay their bills, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The individuals worked at collection agencies owned by Tobias Boyland, whose operations were closed in June under a court order obtained by Cuomo, according to Collections & Credit Risk. Boyland was arrested on weapons charges in June and his case is pending. He previously served 13 years in prison for attempted robbery.
The defendants are: Tina Almond, 30; Jeremy Hapka, 22; Andrew Brzyski, 25; Marcus Brown, 32; Boris Burch, 49; Rhonda DeSousa, 44; Kenneth MacGregor, 33; Danielle Miller, 33; Tracey Pritchett, 39; Jammiea Simpson, 35; Bennie Davis, 47; and Meghan Williams, 30.
They are charged with stealing "tens of thousands" of dollars from consumers across the country, according to the felony complaints against them, and are specifically accused of using false law enforcement identities and threatening "terrified consumers" with criminal charges to coerce them into giving up credit card numbers, authorizing withdrawals from checking accounts, wiring money or sending money orders.
The defendants further are accused of threatening to arrest consumers in front of their children or at work, and threatening to take their children to Social Services. In most cases, the debts either did not exist, were greatly inflated, had been discharged already by a bankruptcy filing or had passed the statute of limitations for collections.
The arrests are part of Cuomo's ongoing investigation into unlawful tactics by collectors in violation of state and federal laws to protect consumers. Debt collection is a major employer in Western New York. More than 120 collection firms operate in Erie and Niagara counties, employing more than 5,200 people, according to the state's Labor Department.
