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Attorney Mike General DeWine
DeWine Files
Suit Against New York Debt Collector
(DAYTON, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General DeWine today announced a lawsuit
against a Buffalo, New York, debt collector accused of impersonating
Ohio government agencies and threatening consumers with arrest while
attempting to collect debts.
The lawsuit accuses Nationwide Recovery Group LLC and its owner,
Michael P. McCarthy, of violating the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act
and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
According to the Attorney General’s lawsuit, the business impersonated
various government and law enforcement agencies, including the clerk of
courts’ offices in Greene County, Cuyahoga County, and Montgomery
County, in addition to county sheriff deputies and a court investigator.
The case began after Greene County Clerk of Courts Terri A. Mazur
alerted the Ohio Attorney General’s Office about a report from a
resident who received a threatening call purportedly from the clerk of
court’s office.
An investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office found that
Nationwide Recovery Group spoofed (or altered) consumers’ caller IDs to
falsely display the real phone numbers of government agencies,
including the clerk of courts’ number. It also threatened consumers
with arrest or legal action if they failed to pay a debt immediately.
While operating in Ohio, the business also allegedly used the
fictitious names Gallagher Mediation and the Law Firm of John McGuire
to mislead consumers.
“By law, debt collectors cannot threaten or mislead consumers,”
Attorney General DeWine said. “In this case, the business not only
threatened consumers with legal action and arrest, it also pretended to
be legitimate Ohio government agencies and spoofed caller IDs to
further mislead consumers. Ohioans deserve better than that, and we are
taking action to hold this debt collector accountable.”
“We thank Greene County Clerk of Courts Terri Mazur for bringing this
case to our attention and providing information that led to this
action,” Attorney General DeWine said.
“I would like to thank the Attorney General’s Office for its diligence
in identifying those responsible for these calls,” Greene County Clerk
of Courts Terri A. Mazur said. “I also am grateful that Greene County
residents had the foresight to call my office to see if the claims
these callers made were true. As government agencies we do our best to
serve our communities, and we know it can be intimidating to receive a
call that appears to come from the government.”
Filed in the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, the Attorney
General’s lawsuit charges the business and its owner with threatening
to take legal action that could not legally be taken, failing to
disclose a caller’s identity, blocking or spoofing telephone numbers to
mislead consumers, and making false and misleading representations.
The Attorney General is seeking an end to the violations, restitution
for consumers, and civil penalties.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors cannot
harass consumers or fail to identify themselves. Consumers also have
the right to request written verification of a debt, and collectors
must send a letter listing how much the consumer owes, the name of the
creditor owed, and how long the consumer has to dispute the debt.
Consumers who suspect unfair or deceptive debt collection practices
should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or 800-282-0515.
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