Markets Wired

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has halted a debt collection operation that allegedly extorted payments from consumers by using false threats of lawsuits and calculated campaigns to embarrass consumers by unlawfully communicating with family members, friends, and coworkers.  The court order stops the illegal conduct, freezes the operation’s assets, and appoints a temporary receiver to take over the defendants’ business while the FTC moves forward with the case.

The lawsuit, part of the FTC’s continuing crackdown on scams that target consumers in financial distress, charged four individuals and seven companies.  The FTC alleged that the defendants were part of an elaborate debt collection scheme operating from locations in Orange and Riverside counties in California, and that they used various business names including Western Performance Group, as well as fictitious names, which they changed frequently to avoid law enforcement scrutiny. 

The FTC alleged that the defendants called consumers and their employers, colleagues, and family members posing as process servers or law office employees, and claimed they were seeking to deliver legal papers that purportedly related to a lawsuit.  In some instances, the defendants threatened that consumers would be arrested if they did not respond to the calls.  But the debt collectors were not process servers or law office employees, and the defendants did not file lawsuits against the consumers.  The FTC charged that the defendants’ false and misleading claims violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  In addition, the FTC alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by:

• improperly contacting third parties about consumers’ debts;
• failing to disclose the name of the company they represented, or the fact that they were attempting to collect a debt, during telephone calls to consumers; and
• failing to notify consumers of their right to dispute and obtain verification of their debts.

The complaint names as defendantsThai Han; Jim Tran Phelps; Keith Hua; James Novella; One FC, LLC, also doing business as Western Performance Group and WPG; Credit MP, LLC, also doing business as AFGA, CMP, AFG & Associates, AF Group, Allied Financial Group, and Allied Guarantee Financial; Western Capital Group, Inc., also doing business as ERA, LMR, WCG, and WC Group; SJ Capitol LLC, also doing business as SCG; Green Fidelity Allegiance, Inc., also doing business as WRA; Asset and Capital Management Group; and Crown Funding Company, LLC.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaintwas 4-0.  The FTC filed the complaint and the request for a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.  On July 24, 2013, the court granted the FTC’s request for a temporary restraining order.  The Federal Trade Commission would like to thank the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for its assistance in bringing this case.  For consumer information about dealing with debt collectors, see Debt Collection. 

NOTE:  The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest.  The case will be decided by the court.   

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.  To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).  The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.  Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.