Scammers Who Collected Millions in Phantom Payday Loan Debts
FOR RELEASE
September 16, 2015
TAGS: deceptive/misleading conduct Finance Bureau of Consumer Protection Western Region Consumer Protection Credit and Finance Debt Collection
The operators of a fraudulent debt collection scheme will be banned from the debt collection business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, resolving charges that they illegally processed more than $5.2 million in payments from consumers for payday loan debts they did not owe.
The settlement resolves a complaint the FTC filed against Kirit Patel, Broadway Global Master Inc., and In-Arabia Solutions Inc. in 2012, alleging that callers working with the defendants harassed consumers into paying on bogus debts, often pretending to be agents of law enforcement or fake government agencies such as the “Federal Crime Unit of the Department of Justice.” The court subsequently halted the operation and froze the defendants’ assets pending litigation
In a separate criminal proceeding, Patel pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice based on his scheme. This week, he was sentenced to a one-year prison term.
Scammers Who Collected Millions in Phantom Payday Loan Debts
FOR RELEASE
September 16, 2015
TAGS: deceptive/misleading conduct Finance Bureau of Consumer Protection Western Region Consumer Protection Credit and Finance Debt Collection
The operators of a fraudulent debt collection scheme will be banned from the debt collection business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, resolving charges that they illegally processed more than $5.2 million in payments from consumers for payday loan debts they did not owe.
The settlement resolves a complaint the FTC filed against Kirit Patel, Broadway Global Master Inc., and In-Arabia Solutions Inc. in 2012, alleging that callers working with the defendants harassed consumers into paying on bogus debts, often pretending to be agents of law enforcement or fake government agencies such as the “Federal Crime Unit of the Department of Justice.” The court subsequently halted the operation and froze the defendants’ assets pending litigation
In a separate criminal proceeding, Patel pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice based on his scheme. This week, he was sentenced to a one-year prison term.