The Minnesota Department of Commerce said you can add ID theft, forgery and theft to the long list or reasons for hating bill collectors. And, if you wondered where all that money went when you closed on your house, it might be that your title company kept the premium.
The Department of Commerce investigated bill collector Lee Hanna and HS and Associates LLC, a collection agency, and alleges that Hanna committed ID theft by using customer information to open a credit card account, forged checks with the same customer’s name and transferred client money from the company’s trust accounts and operating accounts for personal expenses, including bar tabs and rent.
The credit card account opened by ID theft was charged $14,389.91; the two forged checks totaled $6,500 and the client money inappropriately used for personal expenses was in the amount of $19,000, according to the department. (more…)
