San Bernardino CA
15 Oct 2015
I got a call from Stacy Genero at 213-293-1967, stated she was a paralegal at county clerks office. And that I had a criminal case against me for check fraud and she is part of the Worthless check program. Threatened if I didn't pay, at first $1,192.12 then dropped to $587.63 that the DA was going to file a criminal case against me and it was a misdemeanor. This was for a payday loan 2 years ago, which I didn't pay because I was laid off and the bank closed my acct because they were running the check causing insufficient fees. I tried to pay the loan but was told had to contact the new creditor. Anyway she was very demanding and threatened I would be brought to court and charged if I didn't pay. I called the DA's office and they did not know anything about this co. And said this is a tactic to collect debts. Advised to call the original creditor and settle the debt. Do not fall for this scam!! She said her company's name is National Law Group. When I called back to let her know about what the DA said, the call went to voice mail, go figure. Report them to the Attorney General and file a compalint to the BBB.
Caller: National law group
Call Type: Debt Collector
Reply!
A message was left from this number stating that Investigator Stacey Genero was calling regarding two fraudulent checks and that if she didn't hear back from me she was going to contact the Rockland County Fraud Division and have a warrant issued regarding this matter.
1 - "..stated she was a paralegal at county clerks office."
2 - "And that I had a criminal case against me for check fraud and she is part of the Worthless check program."
3 - "Threatened if I didn't pay, at first $1,192.12 then dropped to $587.63 that the DA was going to file a criminal case against me and it was a misdemeanor."
It's not only a tactic, but a highly ILLEGAL tactic by a debt collector. Extremely surprised the DA you called didn't ask for more information to investigate seeing as they were. Add those all up and it SCREAMS fraud! No county clerk would be calling and negotiating payment claiming they are such while also saying they are working for a "Worthless Check Program" (more like worthless criminal program) and threatening a criminal case unless you paid up. Obvious scammers. Keep in mind that if this debt is legit you should seek advice from an attorney regarding the detailed tactics of the collector. By what you said they broke the laws of the FDCA.
I received a phone call from this number today and was given a voicemail, stating that I had legal action being brought down on me for a "possible mistake" but that I should be prepared for what's to come. When I returned the phone call, a guy named Dean Marshall, from "district affairs",said that his attorneys were forced to render a decision that morning, that would issue a warrant for my arrest for a fraudulent check that I gave for a payday loan, (which never happened in the first place) that was never able to be satisfied due to insufficient funds, and later on the checking account closure.
After speaking with my attorney, I was informed by him that these people are in no way, shape or form any kind of law firm and are not allowed to threaten with legal action onto someone for a debt on a payday loan, or any kind of debt owed, regardless if you had the loan or not. At no given point, can you go to jail for this type of debt / regardless of what they claim about the check being fraudulent. A law enforcement agency would have to investigate any fraudulent activity long before any wannabe attorneys could send out a request for your arrest. These people are nothing but a piss poor collection agency using very illegal tactics to gain a payment on debts that you may or may not owe. If you receive a phone call from these people, please site the "federal debt collection act", that what they are doing is highly illegal and you will be reporting them to your local DA. Also, when they attempted to tell me the form of payment, they only wanted a money gram payment, most likely to keep you from getting your money back after you've realized that it was a scam to collect money.