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A Southern California debt collection operation, Asset Capital and Management Group, will surrender more than $4 million for consumer redress to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it extorted payments from consumers using false threats.

The defendants behind the scheme will turn over their personal assets and give up any claim to the business assets, under the FTC settlements. They also are banned from the debt collection industry.

“Consumers shouldn’t be subjected to threats and intimidation,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re pleased that victims of this scheme will be getting money back from the defendants.”

The FTC alleged the defendants used a sprawling network of intertwined companies and dozens of fictitious names to illegally extract payments from consumers for credit card debt that they had purchased from creditors. According to the FTC, the defendants employed an assortment of deceptive and abusive tactics in collecting on the credit card debt, violating both the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FTC charged that the defendants posed as process servers in calls to consumers and third parties, falsely threatened consumers with lawsuits, wage garnishment, seizure of their property, and arrest, and disclosed debts to consumers’ employers, colleagues, and family members. The FTC also alleged that the defendants violated the FDCPA by failing to tell consumers they were attempting to collect a debt, and failing to notify consumers of their right to dispute and obtain verification of their debt.

At the FTC’s request, a federal court in Los Angeles halted the operation in July 2013, froze the defendants’ assets, and appointed a receiver to take charge of the defendants’ business.

The settlements that resolve the case impose judgments totaling $90.5 million. The judgments against Thai Han, Jim Tran Phelps, Keith Hua, and James Novella will be suspended when they surrender their personal assets. The proceeds from those assets, in addition to frozen corporate funds held by the receiver, total more than $4 million, which will be used to provide refunds to consumers.

Besides the monetary judgments imposed on the defendants, and the bans on collecting debt, the settlement orders prohibit them from misrepresenting any relevant fact in connection with promoting or selling credit repair, debt relief, mortgage assistance relief, or lending services.

For consumer information regarding debt collection see: Debt Collection.

The Commission vote approving the proposed settlements was 4-0. The FTC filed the stipulated final orders in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and they were entered on May 19, 2014. The FTC would like to thank the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for its assistance in bringing this case.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

The owner of a Houston-based debt collection operation that the FTC charged used insults, lies, and false threats of imprisonment to collect on payday loans will surrender his assets, estimated to be worth $550,000, to pay restitution to consumers who were charged unauthorized fees. All the defendants will be permanently banned from debt collection under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

In 2013, at the request of the FTC, a U.S. district court shut down Goldman Schwartz, Inc., froze its assets, and appointed a receiver to take control of the business while the case was in litigation. The debt collection operation did business nationwide, collecting primarily on payday loans. In some cases it owned the debt, and in others, it acted as a third-party collector. The operation was charged with multiple violations of both the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

“Debt collectors who harass consumers, make false threats, and charge bogus fees are violating federal law and will be held accountable,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The defendants  were charged with making false threats that consumers would be arrested and jailed, and that their children would be taken into custody; falsely claiming to be attorneys or to work hand-in-hand with local sheriff’s offices; disclosing debts to consumers’ employers and military superiors; and collecting bogus late fees and attorneys’ fees, according to the complaint.

The defendants also harassed and abused consumers by using obscene language and by calling repeatedly and at odd hours early in the morning or late at night, and failed to inform consumers of their rights to dispute the debts, have the debts verified, and obtain the names of the original creditors, the complaint alleged.

The settlement resolves FTC allegations against company owner Gerald Wright, company managers Starlette Foster and Jennifer Zamora, and several corporate defendants. The settlement requires Wright to surrender his assets, estimated at $550,000, which include funds from personal and business accounts and proceeds from the sale of realty. The remainder of a $1.4 million judgment against Wright is suspended based on inability to pay. The judgment against Foster and Zamora also is suspended due to their inability to pay. If it is later determined that the financial information the defendants provided the FTC was false, the full amount of the judgment will become due.

The monetary judgment will be used to pay restitution to consumers who were charged unauthorized late fees and attorneys’ fees, often in the hundreds of dollars. The defendants privately referred to these bogus fees as “Juice,” and used them to inflate the cost to consumers who wished to settle their debts, the complaint alleged.

Also under the order, the defendants are prohibited from misrepresenting the characteristics of any financial product or service.

As part of its continuing crackdown on scams that target consumers in financial distress, the complaint named as defendants Goldman, Schwartz Inc, doing business as Goldman, Schwartz, Lieberman & Stein; Debtcom, Inc., doing business as Cole, Tanner, & Wright; Harris County Check Recovery Inc.; and The G. Wright Group Inc., doing business as The Wright Group. Under the terms of the order, these companies will be dissolved.

For consumer information about dealing with debt collectors, see Debt Collection.

The Commission vote approving the proposed consent decree was 5-0. It is subject to court approval. The FTC filed the proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division on May 19, 2014.

NOTE: Consent decrees have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

The Federal Trade Commission has sued a Florida-based operation that capitalized on the green coffee diet fad by using bogus weight loss claims and fake news websites to market the dietary supplement Pure Green Coffee. Popularized on the syndicated talk show The Dr. Oz Show, green coffee bean extract was touted as a potent weight loss treatment that supposedly burns fat.

The FTC alleged that weeks after green coffee was first promoted on The Dr. Oz Show, the defendants behind Pure Green Coffee – Nicholas Congleton, Paul Pascual, Bryan Walsh, and the companies they control – began selling their Pure Green Coffee extract, charging about $50 for a one-month supply. They marketed the dietary supplement through ads on their own sales websites – with names such as buypuregreencoffee.com, buygreenweightloss.com, greencoffeeweightcontrol.com. The sites featured footage from The Dr. Oz Show, supposed consumer endorsements, and purported clinical proof that dieters could lose weight rapidly without changing their diet or exercise regimens. The defendants also ran paid banner and text ads that appeared on search engines and contained phony weight loss claims.

The defendants made similar claims on websites they set up to look like legitimate news sites or blogs, but were in fact advertisements, and on other “fake news” sites run by affiliate marketers whom they paid to advertise the Pure Green Coffee product, according to the complaint. The fake news sites featured mastheads of fictitious news organizations such as Women’s Health Journal and Healthy Living Reviewed, as well as logos they appropriated from actual news organizations, like CNN and MSNBC.

“Not only did these defendants trick consumers with their phony weight loss claims, they also compounded the deception by advertising on pretend news sites, making it impossible for people to know whether they were seeing news or an ad,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The FTC charged the defendants with false and unsupported advertising claims, including:

• that consumers using Pure Green Coffee can lose 20 pounds in four weeks; 16 percent of body fat in twelve weeks; and 30 pounds and four-to-six inches of belly fat in three to five months.
• that studies prove Pure Green Coffee use can result in average weight loss of 17 pounds in 12 weeks or 22 weeks, weight loss of 10.5 percent, and body fat loss of 16 percent without diet or exercise.
• that certain websites linked to the defendants’ sites are objective news sites with articles written by objective news reporters and that the comments following the supposed articles reflected views of independent consumers.

The FTC also charged the defendants with deceptively failing to disclose that consumers who endorsed the supplement had received it for free and were paid to provide a video testimonial.

The complaint also names as defendants the companies used by Congleton, Pascual, and Walsh to market this operation:  NPB Advertising, Inc., also doing business as Pure Green Coffee; Nationwide Ventures, LLC; Olympus Advertising, Inc.; JMD Advertising, Inc.; and Signature Group, LLC.

Consumers should carefully evaluate advertising claims for weight-loss products. For more information, see the FTC’s guidance for consumers of products and services advertised for Weight Loss & Fitness.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 4-0-1, with  Commissioner McSweeny not participating. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division on May 15, 2014.

The FTC is a member of the National Prevention Council, which provides coordination and leadership at the federal level regarding prevention, wellness, and health promotion practices. This case advances the National Prevention Strategy’s goal of increasing the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life. 

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.