March 26, 2010
Debt Collection Scam Artist Cons Buyers Big Time
Not too long ago, a man running a debt buying company in Florida was punished to six years of federal prison time for the crime of selling debt portfolios that he didn’t own. Steven Goldberg, of Golberg and Associates in Boca Raton, took the heat from the District Attorney. Financial Analysts like Micheal J Koopmans allege that Goldberg would give falsified files and fake evidence that he did in fact own the files. To add insult to injury, Goldberg also sent buyers fake 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.
Parties that were involved included 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 numerous 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 such a good job of policing itself,” Koopmans said. “Debt buying companies should be more methodical when they screen members for criminal backgrounds. Goldberg had convictions before in the past, including felonies.”
The collections industry is able to do many things to protect itself, experts like Micheal J Koopmans believe. Compiling a list of any lawsuits that one member files against another member, or requiring criminal background checks would be useful 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 works for a debt collection company. Also she composes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.
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