Debt collectors set up phony court.

I hope they throw the book at these guys.

A debt collection company in Erie, Pa sent out employees dressed up as Sheriff's Deputies to intimidate people to come in to their office where they had a fake debtor's court set up with a guy dressed up as a judge and even a witness stand.

Team 4: Debt Collectors Accused Of Fake Courtroom, Judge

ERIE, Pa. -- A sign in the front of a building on West 39th Street tells visitors that it's the Unicredit Debt Resolution Center in Erie.

Once debtors got inside, they were fooled into believing they were in a courtroom with a judge, but the whole thing was a fake, according to a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania attorney general.

Team 4's Jim Parsons reported that Unicredit America is accused in the lawsuit of deceiving, misleading and coercing hundreds of consumers into paying off their debts.

Inside the building is a pair of locked oak doors with brass handles resembling a courtroom entrance. The company is accused in the lawsuit of building a mock courtroom complete with a judge's bench and witness stand.

The Attorney General's Office told Team 4 that Unicredit lured debtors to the building by sending employees who appeared to be sheriff's deputies to their homes, implying that they would be taken into custody if they failed to appear at the phony court hearings.

The lawsuit accuses Unicredit of intimidating debtors into revealing their bank account numbers, even turning over the titles to their cars once they got them inside the building.

The Pittsburgh Channel



I wonder how many years someone could get for impersonating a judge? From the sounds of the article, the AG office is only looking at a civil lawsuit for now. I hope, as the investigation progresses, they bring criminal charges for impersonating a law enforcement officer and extortion against those douchebags.

reply to post by FortAnthem


OMFG! This is makes me want to bash all their heads in with a sledge hammer. That is so F-ed up its not even funny. How could you do that to people. And heres my question, how long have they been doing this? And if this is going on in Penn. where else is it going on? This is insane. The FBI needs to do their job and stop these people from doing this. Its so wrong.

A serious crime to impersonate police officers. I would think the same for impersonating a judge.

Unbelievable (not really) in this climate, all the dirty tricks are going to be played. Hope these horses arses get what's coming to them and now that this is getting out, hope that people understand that they are their only protection. Be smart and be watchful. Verify everything!

If not prison they should be sentenced to all files paid in full.
But I`d like to see it prison sentence and all files paid in full.

They really do have balls to pull a stunt like this.
But this case does show how greedy the coporations have become,and does show how they are more than willing,to break the law,to increase profits.
I honestly hope the judge throws the book at them and they all serve hard time.

They probably put down about .03 on the dollar and hired actors for a 50/50 split.

So 3% out of pocket + actors (they get paid if you do) = quite a scheme indeed.

Crazy

Originally posted by InvisibleAlbatross
A serious crime to impersonate police officers. I would think the same for impersonating a judge.

1000 stars.

If these people don't get what's coming to them, the little town of Erie should tar and feather 'em.

reply to post by LadySkadi


It is a shame that something like this should not coma as a surprise to many people. What is most surprising is that those people thought they could get away with something like this. Debt collectors are not the same as the to-big-to-fail banksters and should have known better than to try to get away with something like that.

Still, the AG office's decision to pursue only civil charges at this time is troubling. Those people belong in jail and a civil lawsuit cannot possibly do justice for what they have done.

Oh comon guys, they atleast deserve 10 points for originality..
They should also be hung,drawn and quartered...

wow. this is absolutely outrageous. the big question is which banks are they collecting for? I'm sure they had a cut in what debts/assets they collected by doing something like this.

So who was the major player that persuaded these people to do this? BoA, JP Morgan chase , WF? or all of them? This is beyond belief. It's like the banks are now hiring hitmen to go out and do their dirty work, so when shtf then the hitmen are the ones who get caught.

Debt collectors break the law all the time, simply because the average Joe doesn't know much about the law these days. I had a lot of fun with crooked debt collectors before I left the US. They threaten all kinds of silly things to get you to cut a check. This by far is the most ellaborate scheme I have heard of to date though. Wow.