State AG Shuts Down Western NY Debt Collection Operation; Arrest Owner/Convicted Felon For Unrelated Gun Possession

In Buffalo, New York, the New York Post reports:

• New York authorities say they've shut down a debt collection company that was falsely telling people they'd be thrown in jail if they didn't pay immediately. State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says the Buffalo firm routinely broke the law by having its collectors impersonate law enforcement officials. In reality, the company was run by ex-convicts.

• Owner Tobias Boyland was arrested Tuesday after investigators serving a search warrant discovered a loaded pistol. A judge issued a temporary order closing the company's doors. Boyland's firm did nationwide business under several names. It was the subject of an expose on Dateline NBC in March. Messages left with the company and Boyland's lawyer weren't immediately returned.

Source: Authorities Shut Down False Debt Collectors.

For the New York AG's press release, see Attorney General Cuomo Shuts Down New York Debt Collection Operation That Used Illegal Scare Tactics To Threaten Consumers Across The Country (Employees Posed as Law Enforcement Officials and Threatened to Throw Consumers in Jail if They Didn't Immediately Pay Debts; Latest Action in Cuomo's Ongoing Probe into Unlawful Debt Collection Practices ).

For the Dateline NBC expose on the debt epidemic and the sleazy tactics used by some bill collection agencies and "debt scavengers" in hounding consumers into making payments on delinquent credit accounts, see Inside The Financial Fiasco: Debt Trap.

(1) According to the NY AG press release, the operation consisted of at least nine debt collection companies across Western New York. They operated under several names, including: Central Resource Management, Final Claims Asset Locators, Final Control Asset Locators, Interchange Payment Solutions, Next Step Services, Portfolio Asset Assurance, Silverbay Services, and Teleport.