The Attorney General of Ohio yesterday announced he has filed a lawsuit accusing an individual and a series of companies of deploying harassing and abusive debts from consumers in the Buckeye State.
The Backstory: Thirteen residents of Ohio complained to the AG’s office, leading to investigate and file suit against the defendants — Chris P. Rivera, Franklin Moss & Associates, Koplan Welsh & Associates, Blackwell Mathis Group, and Myriad Capital Management. The suit accuses the defendants of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.
The Claims: The defendants are accused of frequently changing their names and purposefully using names that sound like law firms while using language in their letters to lead reasonable consumers to believe the letters were coming from law firms. During phone calls, the defendants would allegedly threaten consumers with jail time and garnishment of the consumers’ bank accounts while also threatening to file lawsuits they had no intention of filing. As well, they:
- Failed to honor requests for validating debts
- Contacted consumers repeatedly by phone to collect after being informed by the consumers that they did not owe the debts
- Attempting to collect debts that had been discharged in bankruptcy
- Attempting to collect debts that could not be verified
What He Said: “After strong-arming his way to collecting on notes, he himself better be ready to face the music,” Ohio AG Dave Yost said. “Harassment is no way to do business, and it makes this bad actor morally bankrupt.”
