April 6, 2011

By: Simon Goldenberg, Esq.

A lawsuit filed against one of the nation’s largest debt collection firms, Midland Funding LLC, alleges that employees of the firm signed affidavits that falsely stated that they had proof of consumer debts. The sworn affidavits were then allegedly used to file collection lawsuits against people who already had paid their debts, as well as people whose names were similar to the actual debtors.

According to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, “Numerous Midland employees have admitted in sworn testimony to signing up to 400 false affidavits per day, either without reading them, without personal knowledge of their contents, and/or without verifying the accuracy of the information to which the affidavits attest. The robo-signed affidavits were then filed in court to ‘prove’ the alleged debt to the court.”
Debt buyers such as Midland purchase electronic databases of old, charged-off consumer debt from credit card issuers and banks. Oftentimes the debt buyer receives just one line of data on each debtor, including the name, an address and the amount. Without additional verification and due diligence, this limited data is insufficient to prove the validity and liability of a debt. Several banks that sell charged-off debt to Midland are Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. The lawsuit seeks fines of $25,000 per violation under state and federal debt collection laws.

If you are a resident of New York or New Jersey and are being sued by Midland Funding or any other debt collector, you are encouraged to contact The Law Office of Michael Lupolover, P.C. to learn your possible options.
Debt Collection, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Federal Trade CommissionCollection Agency, Consumer Protection, Debt Buyer, Debt Collection, debt collector, default judgment, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Federal Trade Commission, Fraud