Published On: March 1, 2021

A powerful story from one man who refused to be bullied to one of the devious debt collectors:

Millions Are Hounded for Debt They Don’t Owe. One Victim Fought Back, With a Vengeance

Article by Zeke Faux, Bloomberg Business week.
Andrew Therrien wanted payback. He got it—and uncovered a conspiracy.  “It begins when someone scoops up troves of personal information that are available cheaply online—old loan applications, long-expired obligations, data from hacked accounts—and reformats it to look like a list of debts. Then they make deals with unscrupulous collectors who will demand repayment of the fictitious bills. Their targets are often poor and likely to already be getting confusing calls about other loans. The harassment usually doesn’t work, but some marks are convinced that because the collectors know so much, the debt must be real.
The problem is as simple as it is intractable. In 2012 a call center in India was busted for making 8 million calls in eight months to collect made-up bills. The Federal Trade Commission has since broken up at least 13 similar scams. In most cases, regulators weren’t able to identify the original perpetrators because the data files had been sold and repackaged so many times. Victims have essentially no recourse to do anything but take the abuse.”
This article goes on in detail about the years that Therrien spent tracking down the frauds and international schemes.  In May 2016, Therrien emailed his discoveries to the FTC. A lawyer replied right away: “Andrew, we need to talk about this.” Therrien also gave his intel to some private lawyers who were going after Tucker in Texas. They contacted Harsh, and in August 2016 he submitted an affidavit to the court. Harsh, who declined to comment for this story, testified that Tucker had asked him to manipulate a database of almost 8 million payday-loan applications, writing in a made-up lender and adding an amount owed of $300 for each person.

MUSINGS BY DIANE:

If you read the article above you will see it took one man years to expose this on-going conspiracy of mass fraud on our friends, relatives, and, perhaps, ourselves.  Tucker (the founder of this scam) is a sorry human being.  He whines that he is tired of being attacked, yet he never takes ownership that he caused this mess.  He hurt thousands of others who did not have the energy to do what Therrien did for the rest of us.  We should all send our thanks to Andrew Therrien for looking out for us and bringing a few bad guys to justice. 

– Diane L. Drain
By |Published On: March 1st, 2021|Last Updated: June 13th, 2022|

Share this article

About the Author: Diane Drain

Diane is a well respected Arizona bankruptcy and foreclosure attorney. As a retired law professor, she believes in offering everyone, not just her clients, advice about bankruptcy and Arizona foreclosure laws. Diane is also a mentor to hundreds of Arizona attorneys.

*Important Note from Diane: Everything on this web site is offered for educational purposes only and not intended to provide legal advice, nor create an attorney client relationship between you, me, or the author of any article. Information in this web site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from an attorney familiar with your personal circumstances and licensed to practice law in your state. Make sure to check out their reviews.*

Law Office of D.L. Drain, P.A., Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer - Google Reviews
Law Office of D.L. Drain, P.A., Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer - Yelp Reviews
Law Office of D.L. Drain, P.A., Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer - Avvo Reviews
Avvo - Rate your Lawyer. Get Free Legal Advice.
Law Office of D.L. Drain, P.A., Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer - Alignable Reviews
Law Office of D.L. Drain, P.A., Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer - Better Business Bureau

“You folks are the BEST OF THE BEST in Arizona.” M.H.

You and Jay are the best attorneys I have ever had or needed and thank God for the Honorable Robert Gottsfield in recommending you folks – I would have never made it through the entire process without you and Jay and God Bless you both always and stay in touch as well. You folks are the BEST OF THE BEST in Arizona.

“My only regret is that I didn’t find Diane sooner.” K.H.

I can’t say enough good things about Diane. The way she handled my not typical circumstances was amazing. I was very nervous to start the bankruptcy process but Diane just has a very comforting way of explaining the whole process. My only regret is that I didn’t find Diane sooner. If you find yourself in a financial situation that you can’t correct on your own, please Call Diane Drain as soon as possible.

“Filing for bankruptcy can be a stressful life event” R.A.

Filing for bankruptcy can be a stressful life event, and selecting the right attorney can add to this stress. Diane and Jay were a pleasure to work with, and it is obvious that they are passionate about helping people get their life back on track. I would highly recommend them if you need a bankruptcy attorney.

Related Posts

  • Want to avoid dishonest debt collectors?  Watch this video from FTC’s Consumer Advice By Joseph Ferrari,July 22, 2022 (reprint from FTC, Consumer Alerts) During Military Consumer Month 2022, the FTC [...]

  • BEWARE OF THE SECRET COSTS OF USING ‘BUY NOW PAY LATER’!! What You May Not Know About These Services Services like “buy now pay later” now account for $100 [...]

  • Diane Drain received the 2022 Preeminent Award and Gold Client Champion Award from Martindale-Hubbell. The 2022 AV Preeminent award is given to an "elite group of attorneys who have been rated highly by their peers [...]

  • Published On: October 25, 2021

    CFPB Confirms Effective Date for Debt Collection Final Rules (Reprint from CFPB, July 30, 2021) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced two final rules under the FDCPA will [...]

My intention is to put you back in control of your life
Start with $0 down*. We provide affordable payment plans.