The owner of a Kentucky collection agency is facing up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud and tax evasion.
Kevin Welsch, who owned and operated RCC Services, admitted to defrauding clients by collecting debts on behalf of creditors and keeping the money for himself. He also admitted to collecting more from debtors than what was owed — by making multiple, unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts — and charging his clients for fees and expenses that were never incurred. Welsch also admitted to not paying taxes in the process.
Between January 2013 and December 2018, Welsch allegedly collected $837,111 from debtors, but only remitted $64,073 to his creditor-clients. In one case, Welsch allegedly made 308 successful withdrawals from one account, totaling $120,000, after the debt was successfully collected.
Welsch is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in September for sentencing. He faces up to 20 years in prison. According to his LinkedIn profile, Welsch has owned RCC since 2009. The company does not appear to have a website.
The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Ft. Thomas Police Department in Kentucky. The announcement of the guilty plea was announced by Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS – Criminal Investigation; James Robert Brown, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, FBI Louisville Field Office and Casey Kilgore, Chief of Police, Ft. Thomas Police Department.
