New phone, who dis? A collection “kingpin” who has been sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Attorney General of New York for hiding assets in order to avoid paying a $60 million judgment is now being accused of destroying evidence by trading in his cell phone for a new one, which got rid of text messages that were on the defendant’s old phone.
A copy of the motion for sanctions against Douglas MacKinnon — which includes copies of a transcript of a deposition of MacKinnon from this past June, as well as copies of transcripts of previous depositions and in-court testimony — can be accessed by clicking here.
MacKinnon was sued in 2021 for transferring assets into his wife’s name, including a house valued at $1.6 million, in order to avoid having it seized as part of a judgment against him. MacKinnon and a number of other defendants were ordered in 2019 to pay $60 million in redress to consumers and in civil penalties. The group was accused of setting up more than 250 collection operations across the country and using threatening tactics to try and collect on debts, spoofing numbers of courthouses and government agencies, making false threats of arrest, while also adding $200 to the balance owed.
According to the CFPB and the New York AG, MacKinnon traded in his cell phone for a new one, thereby permanently losing access to the data and information on the old phone, even though he knew it contained information that had been requested by the plaintiffs. Making the situation worse for MacKinnon was that the CFPB and the New York AG didn’t learn the phone had been traded in for more than a year after it occurred. MacKinnon had testified in depositions that text messaging was his preferred method of communication, making the information vital to the government’s case.
The CFPB and New York AG are seeking an adverse inference from the judge in order to presume that the phone contained evidence showing the transfer of the home was executed to delay and hinder the process, and that the phone contained evidence demonstrating MacKinnon believed he would incur debts beyond his ability to pay.
