The Murphy Law Firm has seen a significant spike in scam debt collectors calling consumers during the COVID-19 Shutdown. These out-of-state unlicensed debt collectors make harassing calls to consumers and use false statements, deceptive practices and even threats in their attempts to extort money. Recent enforcements actions include claims against:
- IKS & Associates, LLC, a California company, and its owner Karriem Madison, doing business under the fictitious business name Bradford Stevens & Associates- the collectors allegedly left messages claiming to be the “County Courier Service” calling about a failed delivery attempt. When the resident returned the call, the operator claimed to be from “Bradford Stevens & Associates,” falsely stated that a lawsuit had been filed against the resident for a past due cell phone account from more than 15 years earlier, and then made the resident a “settlement offer.”
- Portfolio Recovery Management, Inc., a New York company, and its owner Jason Jakubec, doing business under the fictitious business name Karl Frankovitch law firm- persons falsely claimed to be with the Traill County Sheriff’s department wanting to serve a summons and even displayed the actual telephone number for the sheriff’s office on the caller ID, also pretended to be a “prosecuting attorney” from Karl Frankovitch law firm, and even made harassing calls to the consumer’s family members in an effort to force the consumer to make a payment on a debt that was false or invalid.
- Global Management Acquisition Firm, Inc., a Georgia company, and its officer Walter Hargrove- the collectors allegedly threatened to make calls to the consumer’s employer and to garnish wages, but was not able to provide the consumer with any information about the alleged debt.