Operator of Fraudulent Debt Collection Scheme Settles With FTC, New York

The operator of a debt collection scheme has settled claims by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney Generalthat he and the companies he controlled lied to consumers about how much debt they owed and used illegal scare tactics to collect it.

Metadata

Provider:

FTC

URL:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/02/operator-fraudulent-debt-collection-scheme-settles-ftc-new-york

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Information

Tags:

Economy, Finance, Money, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Debt collection, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer protection, Fair debt collection, Jon Heidenreich, Capital Acquisitions and Management Corporation, Debt buyer

Summary

Key Points:

The operator of a debt collection scheme has settled claims by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney Generalthat he and the companies he controlled lied to consumers about how much debt they owed and used illegal scare tactics to collect it.
Under the settlement, Robert Heidenreich, who ran the scheme from the Buffalo, N.Y. area, is permanently banned from the debt collection business and prohibited from misleading consumers about any financial products.
Together, the FTC and the New York Attorney General stopped the latest in a line of illegal and abusive debt collectors, said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The complaint filed by the FTC and New York Attorney General alleged that Heidenreich and the companies he controlled violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, along with similar New York state laws.