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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.

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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.

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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/