A St. Louis television station is continuing its efforts to spotlight the questionable tactics of a local collector whose efforts “are clearly across the line,” according to a county prosecutor who threatens arrest and court actions when attempting to collect on unpaid debts.
A pair of local police agencies are now reportedly investigating a collector whose name is Randall Lang, but who has used the names Steven Anthony, Steven Scott, and Anthony James in trying to collect. The company Lang is currently operating under is called CDL & Associates. The television station has been documenting Lang’s tactics since 2014. Most recently, individuals who received collection letters from Lang were told they could be charged with first-degree larceny and that a subpoena request to appear in court was being made for them.
When shown all of the evidence it has collected, Wesley Ball, the prosecuting attorney of St. Louis County said, “I think this is clearly across the line in my opinion. This letter seems to have the color of the law behind it and that can intimidate people.”
Ball also said that Lang and his companies were now on his radar.
The television station has tried on numerous occasions to interview Lang and ask him about his collection tactics, but Lang has not engaged or answered questions. In one case, he pulled his shirt over his head as he walked away from a residence he had shown up at to collect on an unpaid debt.
Lang has violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, said Rob Swearingen of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, when he was interviewed about Lang back in 2017.
