On May 15, 2017, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office (“Minnesota AG”) announced that it obtained a judgment in a lawsuit filed in Minnesota state court against a debt collection company. As a result of the final judgment, the company is permanently barred from collecting debts in Minnesota and must pay a civil money penalty and restitution to Minnesota consumers.
The judgment is a result of a lawsuit the Minnesota AG filed against the company in August 2016, alleging violations of Minnesota Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Minn. Stat. § 332.37 et seq. According to the Minnesota AG, the company used call centers located in Jamaica to collect sham payday loans from Minnesota residents. The company allegedly told consumers they owed money on payday loans that they had never taken out, and threatened consumers with lawsuits, arrests, and to send local law enforcement to their homes if they did not pay the money.
This is the fifth enforcement action concerning debt collection covered by Enforcement Watch this year. The prior actions are available here, here, here, and here.
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