New York Federal Court Issues TRO Over Debt Collector’s Communications

FTC

​​FTCOn May 21, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced​​ that its “Messaging for Money” enforcement campaign resulted ​in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York issuing a temporary restraining order against a debt collector who, according to the FTC’s complaint filed on May 11,  allegedly told consumers via text messages that legal actions had been filed against them, threatened consumers with arrest, impersonated state law enforcement officials, communicated with consumers’ families, and failed to provide required debt-collection notices.  The court found that the FTC was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims under Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the company from further misrepresentations and illegal debt-collection activities, freezing the company’s assets, and giving the FTC immediate access to all of the company’s property and records.  ​