On December 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is distributing more than $540,000 in refunds to victims of an abusive debt collector group. The debt collectors allegedly threatened consumers with lawsuits or arrest for debts that they might not have even owed.
In September 2020, the FTC filed lawsuits against National Landmark Logistics and Absolute Financial Services, which operated under various names including National Landmark Service of United Recovery, Silverlake Landmark Recovery Group, Absolute Financial Services Recovery, AFSR Global Logistics, and Tri-Star. The FTC alleged that these entities used illegal robocalls to leave deceptive messages, falsely claiming that consumers faced imminent legal action for unpaid debts. When consumers returned the calls, the defendants purportedly misrepresented themselves as being from a mediation or law firm, threatened legal action, and used personal information to make the threats appear credible. The FTC alleged that, in many cases, the consumers did not owe the debt or the defendants had no legal right to collect it.
In 2021, the defendants agreed to settlements that permanently banned them from the debt collection industry and required them to pay money to compensate affected consumers. As a result, the FTC is sending checks to 1,625 consumers, each receiving $334.38.