Fraudulent Debt Collectors Must Disgorge $10.8M to FTC

A group of 13 debt collection companies that were “permeated with fraud” must hand over $10.8 million to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled.

The disgorgement amount requested of Federal Recoveries LLC and related companies, which equals the entire amount collected from consumers over a four-year period, was reasonable, the court said.

The actions of the companies, based on more than 500 consumer complaints, were egregious, the court said.

The companies used aggressive collection telephone scripts, often pretending to be law enforcement personnel, the court said.

The co-owners, Mark Briandi and William ...