A debt collector who went by the name of “Bobby Rich” has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General of New York that will ban him from ever participating in the collection industry again and require him to repay $30,000 out of a $1.7 million fine after he was accused of lying to individuals about their debts and using illegal tactics to try and collect on them.
A copy of the settlement in the case of FTC and the New York Attorney General v. Campbell Capital et al can be accessed by clicking here.
The collector, whose real name is Bobby Heidenreich, was sued along with a number of other defendants by the FTC and the NY AG in November 2018 for allegedly lying to consumers by telling them they were about to be arrested, had committed crimes, or were about to be sued or served with legal papers because of their failure to pay an alleged debt. The collectors also allegedly told individuals that their employers and family members were going to be notified about the alleged debts and the collectors used profanity and other abusive language during collection calls with consumers.
The FTC obtained a default judgment against other defendants in the case — Campbell Capital LLC; Kahl, Heidenreich, and Nemmer LLC; Urban, Heidenreich, Melendez, and Associates, LLC; J & V Receivables LLC; Rich Financial LLC; and BCH & Associates Ltd.
Under the terms of the settlement, Heidenreich neither admitted nor denied any of the allegations made against him. Based on his financial situation, Heidenreich is required to repay $30,000 of the $1.7 million he was fined for his role in the scam.
“Together, the FTC and the New York Attorney General stopped the latest in a line of illegal and abusive debt collectors,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement
