Sunshine State
Sues Debt Termination Company
Here We Go... When we first
heard the term debt termination a few years back and saw the
advertisements, we immediately knew we had to warn consumers
super fast. These companies seemingly came out of nowhere
announcing that they had a technique, program or plan that
would terminate all of your unsecured debts. If it were true,
this would set most consumers on easy street. But is debt
termination real? Join us as we take an indepth look at this
controversial
debt solution.
Debt Termination Company Gets Slammed
by AG Have you noticed that every decade, we are
presented with a sham that seems to remind us that a swindler
is born every hour? In the 1970s, it was tax shams. In the
1980s it was the get rich pyramids. In the 1990s it was
worthless stocks and corporate shell games. In the 2000s its
looking like its debt scams are going to be con game of the
decade. Combined, debt swindlers have raked in 100s of millions
of dollars thus far. Yet, they have somehow been able to remain
under the radar, many of them avoid prosecution, even when they
are caught red handed.
They hide behind easily identifiable titles
such as
debt counseling, debt management, debt relief, debt settlement and
of course, debt
termination. Since the early 2000s, these companies have
multiplied to virtually every corner of the nation. Their
extract money from victims by promising to instantly wipe out
all debts and then charge upfront fees, sometimes in excess of
$5000 just to get the customer into the fraudulent program.
Here is the complete press release on the debt termination
company, New Leaf Associates, LLC.
###
July 8, 2005
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has
filed a lawsuit against New Leaf Associates, LLC, and several
associated businesses and individuals for their participation
in an allegedly phony "debt termination" scheme.
The lawsuit alleges that New Leaf and the other
civil defendants took in more than $8 million from late 2003
until early this year by claiming they had a legal
"administrative process" by which they could completely
eliminate credit card and student loan debts for their clients
as an alternative to bankruptcy.
An investigation conducted by the Attorney
General's Economic Crimes Division revealed that New Leaf
collected fees starting at almost $4,000 from approximately
2,200 clients who were lured by the promise that not only would
their debts disappear but their credit scores would not be
damaged.
No debts were actually terminated by the
program, and numerous consumers suffered financial losses as a
result, the state's lawsuit asserts. The Attorney General's
Office has received some 185 consumer complaints regarding the
New Leaf scam, the highest total for any single complaint
subject this year.
"Too many consumers are mired in debt and are
desperate to find a way out of their financial dilemma," said
Crist. "These defendants took advantage of their victims, who
were seeking assistance to solve their financial problems.
Floridians should always remember that if something sounds too
good to be true, it probably is."
The defendants are charged with violating
Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. They could
be ordered to pay restitution to their victims and also ordered
to pay civil penalties of $10,000 per violation or $15,000 for
victims who were disabled or senior citizens, as well as
attorney fees and costs.
###
William Phillips brings a
degree in economics and an unwavering passion to help fellow
Americans come from under the clutches of debt. He believes
that with the right debt advice or debt counseling, anyone can
recover from the stresses of being overwhelmed with credit card
bills and other debts.
For more information on this topic or any other
issue related to getting out of debt, living debt free, debt
management, debt relief, the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act and stopping debt collectors in their tracks,
please visit www.DebtErasure.com
Source: http://www.debterasure.com/
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