Bill Collection Scam Artist Cons Buyers Big Time

It was seen in recent news that a man who ran a debt buying company in Florida was sentenced to six years of federal prison time for the crime of selling debt portfolios that he did not own. Steven Goldberg, of Golberg and Associates in Boca Raton, took the heat from the Distric Attorney. Authorities say that Goldberg would give falsified files and fake evidence that he owned the files. To add insult to injury, Goldberg also sent buyers bogus transaction numbers and other fake financial information. All in all, debt buyers were hoodwinked for more than $3.3 million. Investigative reports revealed that many well-respected accounts receivable management companies were swindled.

Authorities that were involved were the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Boca Raton Police Department. Federal criminal charges against Goldberg have been satisfied, but there are still a large number civil cases pending against him that he will have to deal with once he gets out.

Micheal J Koopmans is an official from a major collections company. Climbing up the corporate ladder, Koopmans started as a debt collector and now is one of the industry’s leading authorities

“Our industry does not do a really great job of policing itself,” he said. “Debt buying companies should be more vigilant when they screen members for criminal backgrounds. This guy had prior convictions, including felonies.”

The debt collection industry has the capacity to do many things to protect itself, says Koopmans. Getting a list together of any lawsuits that one member files against another member, or requiring criminal background checks would be good ideas. Either way, Goldberg has a long vacation in jail scheduled, and when he gets out, you better believe that any money he owes in Civil Court will be aggressively collected.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection company. Also she composes articles on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.