A pair of individuals — Luis O. Carrera and Roberto Llaury — and three companies — BAM Financial, Everton Financial, and Legal Financial Counseling — as well as a number of DBAs under those companies, have been permanently banned from the collection industry as part of a settlement announced this morning with the Federal Trade Commission.
The defendants were originated charged back in October 2015 with extracting payments from individuals using lies, intimidation, and other illegal tactics. The collection agencies have not been allowed to operate since the original charges were filed.
The two individuals will pay about $110,000 in fines and penalties, as part of a $4.8 million judgment that was partially suspended because of the defendants’ financial condition.
Along with being banned from the collections industry, the defendants are also prohibited from misrepresenting facts about financial-related products, profiting from consumers’ personal information, and failing to dispose of it properly.
