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On November 4, 2024, the FTC announced that it had filed suit against a Georgia-based debt collector for engaging in allegedly deceptive and abusive debt collection practices, in violation of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p, and its associated Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLB Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 6821. According to the FTC’s complaint filed in the Northern District of Georgia, the company allegedly engaged in a scheme to improperly collect debts that consumers did not owe, or that the company did not have the authority to collect. The FTC alleges that the company repeatedly called consumers or their family members regarding a purported “legal matter”, and routinely did not disclose its status as a debt collector. The FTC further alleges that in many instances, the company falsely represented itself as a mediation company to consumers, or represented that it possessed certain private information about consumers in order to convince consumers of the legitimacy of the debt collection. The FTC alleges that the company then falsely threatened consumers with legal action or arrest if the purported debt was not paid. The FTC asserts that in many of these instances, the consumers did not owe the debt or the company was not authorized to collect it. The FTC contends that the company has collected over $4.5 million from consumers since 2021 through the alleged scheme. On the same day that the suit was filed, a Georgia Northern District Court judge granted the FTC’s request for a temporary restraining order, enjoining the company from misrepresenting the status of any debt or its authority to collect to any consumer, threatening to take any unlawful action, or using any false or deceptive means to collect a debt or obtain personal consumer information, and freezing all of the company’s assets. The Court’s temporary order will expire after fourteen days. The FTC seeks a permanent injunction restraining the company from future violations of consumer finance law, as well as unspecified monetary relief. |
