The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that it is sending refund checks to nearly 4,000 individuals who were victimized in a collection scam. The total amount being reimbursed by the FTC is $516,000, which works out to about $129 per victim.
A group of defendants were charged nearly two years ago with collecting $3.4 million in payments from individuals for debts they did not owe. The group threatened imprisonment, lawsuits, and wage garnishments if payments were not made while also contacting friends, relatives, and employers to coerce individuals into making payments.
The group of defendants reached a settlement with the FTC last September, which barred them for life from participating in the collection industry and imposed a fine of $3.4 million, most of which was suspended because of the defendants’ inability to repay the debt.
The defendants were: Lamar Snow, Jahaan McDuffie and Glentis “Glen” Wallace; Advanced Mediation Group LLC; North Center Collections Inc.; Capital Security Investments LLC; Diverse Financial Enterprises Inc.; American Credit Adjusters LLC; Apex National Services LLC; and Global Processing Solutions LLC and Intrinsic Solutions LLC, formerly known as Global Processing Solutions Inc. and Intrinsic Solutions Inc.