Credit Collections Defense Network, a debt settlement business based in Chicago, is banned from doing business in West Virginia.
The state's attorney general, Darrell McGraw, sued the company and its owners, claiming they were engaged in unlawful debt settlement activities in West Virginia.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker granted judgment to McGraw against the company and owners Robert K. Lock Jr., an Illinois attorney, and Phillip M. Manger, a New York attorney.
The judge also imposed a $130,000 civil penalty against each defendant, and entered judgment for $21,985 in restitution to consumers who paid the defendants but received no meaningful debt settlement services in return.
"The use of debt relief services can have serious legal and financial consequences and my office will continue to scrutinize the debt-relief industry to protect our consumers," McGraw said in a press release.
"We are particularly concerned with attorneys from out of state claiming to provide legal services when they cannot legally practice law in West Virginia," McGraw added.
