The involved parties located in Buffalo, New York targeted consumers nationwide. 14 individuals were found guilty in this charge, among them being Travell Thomas, a poker player who allegedly used profit to fund his gambling, and Charles Blakely III as leaders of this scam. Individuals were charged in 2017 and are now serving sentences, some over 7 years.
With 7 agencies being banned from debt collections, the FTC is cracking down on manipulative companies as a way to protect consumers from collectors scaring and forcing consumers into paying their debt owed. According to the Better Business Bureau, guilty agencies have already been alerting them as out of business.
This settlement has been reached three years after investigation started in pursuit of complaints filed against these agencies to the FTC. If you, as a consumer, are receiving debt collector calls that are suspicious or threatening, contact The Federal Trade Commission here.
