Joseph Ciffa’s name first appeared on AccountsRecovery.net more than seven years ago when he was accused in a criminal complaint of running a debt collection scam that sought to collect phantom debts from individuals who had already been scammed. And even that wasn’t his first brush with the law related to issues attempting to collect on debts from consumers. For that, you would have to go back to 2015, when the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General of New York tried to recover $20 million from Ciffa. Yesterday, he was sentenced to more than three years in prison by a federal judge.
Ciffa, 56, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing a false tax return. The sentence marks the culmination of a years-long investigation into a scheme that defrauded victims of more than $3 million. Ciffa pleaded guilty to charges back in 2018.
Operating out of multiple locations across New York, Ciffa’s operation employed a range of fraudulent tactics to extract payments. His team used intimidation, including threats of criminal prosecution and impersonation of attorneys, to pressure victims into paying debts — many of which had already been resolved or were fabricated entirely. This practice of recollecting on debts became so common within his operation that it earned the nickname “re-dos.”
Between January 2015 and December 2016, Ciffa’s scam netted $3,061,205 from victims. He was barred from engaging in debt collection activities back in 2017.
Over the years, a number of other individuals involved in the scams have been sentenced to prison for their roles. The other members of the collection ring included Carmelo Collana, Damario Turpin, Debbie Seright, Shauniqua Rodriguez
