Debt Collection Company Uses Fake Courtroom to Frighten Consumers Into Making Payments

File this under "why should anyone be surprised that debt collectors use illegal tactics to threaten consumers into making payments"?

From the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office:

Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that a consumer protection lawsuit has been filed against an Erie debt collection company accused of using deceptive tactics to mislead, confuse or coerce consumers - including the use of bogus "hearings" allegedly held in a company office that was decorated to look like a courtroom.

Corbett said the civil lawsuit was filed by the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection against Unicredit America Inc., with corporate and business offices located at 1537 West 39th St., Erie, also identified as the "Unicredit Debt Resolution Center."

"This is an unconscionable attempt to use fake court proceedings to deceive, mislead or frighten consumers into making payments or surrendering valuables to Unicredit without following lawful procedures for debt collection," Corbett said. "Consumers also allegedly received dubious 'hearing notices' and letters - often hand-delivered by individuals who appear to be Sheriff Deputies - which implied they would be taken into custody by the Sheriff if they failed to appear at the phony court for 'hearings' or 'depositions'."

These fake courtrooms were used to intimidate victims into giving Unicredit access to their bank accounts and even surrendering vehicle titles and assets. Unicredit must have hired a few unemployed theatre graduates to do the set design because the description of this fake courtroom sounds like they covered all the details to make this look real enough to fool a lot of people. I would love to see photographs of this mess:

The fake courtroom allegedly contained furniture and decorations similar to those used in actual court offices, including a raised "bench" area where a judge would be seated; two tables and chairs in front of the "bench" for attorneys and defendants; a simulated witness stand; seating for spectators; and legal books on bookshelves. During some proceedings, an individual dressed in black was seated where observers would expect to see a judge.

I reported in June about a bill collector who threatened to blow up a man's house for not paying his $308.09 Verizon cell phone bill. I knew then that this was just the beginning because $308.09 is chump change to the $300,000 some graduates owe for their college and graduate school education. If someone's life could be threatened for that small amount, these debt collectors are capable of anything to get their money.

If any of you have been scammed by Unicredit, you can call the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-441-2555 or file an online consumer complaint.

Xtranormal Takes the Higher Education Scam Mainstream

Here are several more xtranormal videos. I'd like to see more of these videos follow in the footsteps of the "So You Want to Go to Law School" video that has gone viral and received 660,000 hits in the last week. I'm glad to see unemployed graduates putting some of their free time to good use by creating these creative and humorous videos that will hopefully save someone from a similar fate. Enjoy and pass them along to a real life lemming contemplating law or graduate school. You could save a life.

"Nigerian" Scams Hit Law Firms Hard!

How do you scam an attorney? Pretty easily apparently. Here's the scenario:
A woman who is on assignment in Hong Kong contacts your firm to procure her divorce settlement from her ex-husband. You agree to do so for a retainer of $20K. Her husband sends you a check for $500,000. You are instructed to wire her the money and keep your $20K. By the time you wire the money to your phony baloney client, you find out that the check was a fake and you're out $480K. Your client is no where to be found. Yes, more than one firm has fallen for this ingenious scam.

According to the FBI, law firms across the U.S. are getting hit with these counterfeit check schemes out of Korea, China, Ireland and Canada. With the rise in electronic communication in lieu of face-to-face encounters, it is not unusual for attorneys to accept work from clients in other states, even overseas, sight unseen. Authorities say they are difficult to investigate because they involve international perpetrators.

I regularly represent clients that have contacted me via email, that I have never met in person. Technology has been helpful in eliminating the time wasted in face-to-face communications. Aside from that, I find it easier to sell myself to clients on the phone and via email, because I look young--which has always been held against me. Beware, solo practitioners and small law firms! This is the kind of scam that is not only humiliating, but costly. It's a crazy world we live in.