First Financial Services, a Lonsdale, Minn.-based collection agency, and its owner must each pay the state $50,000 for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Minnesota Department of Commerce has ordered. Both also lost their licenses.
Owner Khemall Jokhoo and his company violated both the FDCPA and Minnesota law by threatening to have consumers arrested, making false statements and engaging in harassing, oppressive and abusive conduct, the department said in an order.
First Financial Services and Jokhoo convinced consumers to transfer thousands of dollars to First Financial’s account without authorization. They also wrongly held themselves out as federal investigators and lawyers during the collection process.
In its original statement of charges, filed in January 2010, the department accused Jokhoo of lying on numerous collector registration applications, claiming he had never been charged, indicted, pleaded to or convicted of any crime in state or federal court.
The state's commerce department revoked First Financial’s collection agency license in November 2009. Jokhoo’s individual collector licenses lapsed in June 2009.
