Joseph Onwuteaka has been ordered to repay $25 million in fines and more than $500,000 in attorneys fees after being found guilty of violating the Texas Debt Collection Act, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices – Consumer Protection Act, and the Texas Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act, the Attorney General of Texas announced today.
Onwuteaka was found guilty last month of violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act by filing nearly 900 lawsuits in Harris County, Texas against individuals who neither lived in the county nor signed their underlying loan documents in that county. He was found guilty of the Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act because he included unreacted Social Security and driver’s license numbers on 123 of the lawsuits. Finally, he was convicted of violating the Texas Debt Collection Act by attempting to collect on more than five dozen motor vehicle debts without a license.
A copy of the final order and judgment can be accessed here.
An injection was also entered, requiring Onwuteaka to only file suits in the county where the debtor resided at the time of the commencement of the suit or in the county in which the debtor in fact signed the contract. An injection that would have barred Onwuteaka from collecting debts or buying debts was stricken from the final order and judgment. Onwuteaka was barred from collecting on any motor vehicle contracts going forward.
Should Onwuteaka appeal the decision and lose, another $50,000 will be added to the judgment award, based on the anticipated attorneys fees to defend the appeal.
The judgment and order was entered against Joseph Onwuteaka, Joseph Onwuteaka, PC, and Samara Portfolio Management.
