Another State AG Targets Debt Buyer Over Collection Suit Affidavits

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced Tuesday that his office has filed a civil lawsuit against Florida debt buyer United Credit Recovery (UCR) for allegedly passing off fraudulent bank documents in debt collection lawsuits. It is the latest legal action from a state AG against UCR.

“UCR faked bank officer signatures on documents to orchestrate a debt-for-sale scheme from which they handsomely profited,” explained Suthers. “The scheme involved thousands of individual accounts totaling tens of millions of dollars.”

According to the complaint, UCR purchased consumer debt in the form of overdrawn checking accounts from Wells Fargo and US Bank and then used account information provided by the banks to create hundreds of thousands of fake affidavits purporting to describe and to verify debt owed by consumers. UCR profited by using the fake affidavits in collecting on the debt and in reselling debt to third-party debt collectors.

Two other companies were also named in Suthers’ suit: GTF Services, a collection agency that bought some of the debts from UCR after the alleged affidavit fraud, and Standley & Associates, a collection law firm affiliated with GTF.  Suthers accuses both of knowing the documents were not accurate.

The complaint was filed in Denver County District Court under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act and the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Suthers’ complaint asks the courts to completely compensate or restore to their original position, all consumer injured by the defendants.

The allegations against UCR are similar to those made in late October by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson. Minnesota’s suit also focused on UCR’s actions with overdrawn account – or demand deposit account (DDA) – debt from US Bank and Wells Fargo.