A federal judge in Oklahoma has issued a preliminary injunction barring three individuals and the two companies they operate from continuing a fraudulent debt collection scheme that targeted older adults and veterans after prosecutors filed a civil complaint against the defendants yesterday.
The defendants — Christopher Parks, who is currently incarcerated in Oklahoma, his son, Christopher Noah Parks, and Stephen Miller, operate Assured Collections LLC and Assured Financial LLC. The elder Parks had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to comment healthcare fraud and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The defendants allegedly sent thousands of debt collection notices to consumers across the country, falsely informing them that they owed money for medical equipment. Some of the notices sought to collect thousands of dollars, according to a report. The defendants had no authority to contact consumers to try and collect any debt, according to prosecutors.
All three defendants allegedly knew the notices that were being sent were fraudulent yet still continued to contact consumers attempting to collect on the bogus debts, according to prosecutors.
“The defendants in this case victimized individuals who were already traumatized by illness and were struggling emotionally, physically and financially,” said U.S. Attorney Clinton Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma, in a statement. “This fraudulent billing scheme caused additional harm and eroded the public’s trust in the medical industry. I’m thankful for the collaborative effort of all the investigative agencies that worked together in pursuit of justice for the victims.”
The Department of Defense’s General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General also took part in the investigation, according to the report.
