Another twist and turn in the saga of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau trying to get money from former collection “kingpin” Douglas MacKinnon to satisfy a $60 million judgment. In the latest development, a District Court judge has awarded the plaintiffs — the CFPB and the Attorney General of New York — some the proceeds of the sale of MacKinnon’s former home, which he transferred to his wife and daughter to avoid it being part of the judgment.
The background: 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.
- The house was foreclosed on and sold for $1.3 million at auction. The proceeds were to be split evenly between MacKinnon’s wife, Amy, and his daughter, Mary-Kate.
The ruling: Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. of the District Court for the Western District of New York ultimately ruled that Amy MacKinnon was entitled to her proceeds of the sale of the home, while the proceeds that should have gone to Mary-Kate MacKinnon were to be forfeited to the plaintiffs. Judge Geraci ruled the transfer between Douglas MacKinnon and his daughter was fraudulent under both federal and state law because the share of the property was transferred without Douglas MacKinnon receiving reasonably equivalent value, while fully aware of the significant financial liabilities he faced.
