Video (5:36)
SHOPKINS SEASON 2 MEGA PACK 20-Pack Opening Frozen Elsa & Barbie Puppy Park DisneyCarToys - YouTube
Showing posts with label collection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label collection. Show all posts
Friday, January 9, 2015
Sunday, September 16, 2012
In Prosecutors, Debt Collectors Find a Partner
The following is an excerpt from an article in:
The New York Times
Sunday, September 16, 2012
In Prosecutors, Debt Collectors Find a Partner
By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG
The letters are sent by the thousands to people across the country who have written bad checks, threatening them with jail if they do not pay up.
They bear the seal and signature of the local district attorney’s office. But there is a catch: the letters are from debt-collection companies, which the prosecutors allow to use their letterhead. In return, the companies try to collect not only the unpaid check, but also high fees from debtors for a class on budgeting and financial responsibility, some of which goes back to the district attorneys’ offices.
The practice, which has spread to more than 300 district attorneys’ offices in recent years, shocked Angela Yartz when she was threatened with conviction over a $47.95 check to Walmart. A single mother in San Mateo, Calif., Ms. Yartz said she learned the check had bounced only when she opened a letter in February, signed by the Alameda County district attorney, informing her that unless she paid $280.05 — including $180 for a “financial accountability” class — she could be jailed for up to one year.
“I was so worried driving my kid to and from school that if I failed to signal, they would cart me off to jail,” Ms. Yartz said.
Debt collectors have come under fire for illegally menacing people behind on their bills with threats of jail. What makes this approach unusual is that the ultimatum comes with the imprimatur of law enforcement itself — though it is made before any prosecutor has determined a crime has been committed.
Prosecutors say that the partnerships allow them to focus on more serious crimes, and that the letters are sent only to check writers who ignore merchants’ demands for payment. The district attorneys receive a payment from the firms or a small part of the fees collected.
“The companies are returning thousands of dollars to merchants that is not coming at taxpayer expense,” said Ken Ryken, deputy district attorney with Alameda County.
Consumer lawyers have challenged the debt collectors in courts across the United States, claiming that they lack the authority to threaten prosecution or to ask for fees for classes when no district attorney has reviewed the facts of the cases. The district attorneys are essentially renting out their stationery, the lawyers say, allowing the companies to give the impression that failure to respond could lead to charges, when it rarely does.
“This is guilty until proven innocent,” said Paul Arons, a consumer lawyer in Friday Harbor, Wash., about two hours north of Seattle.
The partnerships have proliferated from Los Angeles to Baltimore to Detroit, according to the National District Attorneys Association, as the stagnant economy leaves city and state officials grappling with budget shortfalls. Lawyers for the check writers estimate that more than 1 million of them are targeted a year. The two main debt collectors — California-based CorrectiveSolutions and BounceBack of Missouri — return millions of dollars each year to retailers including Safeway, Target and Walmart.
The New York Times
Sunday, September 16, 2012
In Prosecutors, Debt Collectors Find a Partner
By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG
The letters are sent by the thousands to people across the country who have written bad checks, threatening them with jail if they do not pay up.
They bear the seal and signature of the local district attorney’s office. But there is a catch: the letters are from debt-collection companies, which the prosecutors allow to use their letterhead. In return, the companies try to collect not only the unpaid check, but also high fees from debtors for a class on budgeting and financial responsibility, some of which goes back to the district attorneys’ offices.
The practice, which has spread to more than 300 district attorneys’ offices in recent years, shocked Angela Yartz when she was threatened with conviction over a $47.95 check to Walmart. A single mother in San Mateo, Calif., Ms. Yartz said she learned the check had bounced only when she opened a letter in February, signed by the Alameda County district attorney, informing her that unless she paid $280.05 — including $180 for a “financial accountability” class — she could be jailed for up to one year.
“I was so worried driving my kid to and from school that if I failed to signal, they would cart me off to jail,” Ms. Yartz said.
Debt collectors have come under fire for illegally menacing people behind on their bills with threats of jail. What makes this approach unusual is that the ultimatum comes with the imprimatur of law enforcement itself — though it is made before any prosecutor has determined a crime has been committed.
Prosecutors say that the partnerships allow them to focus on more serious crimes, and that the letters are sent only to check writers who ignore merchants’ demands for payment. The district attorneys receive a payment from the firms or a small part of the fees collected.
“The companies are returning thousands of dollars to merchants that is not coming at taxpayer expense,” said Ken Ryken, deputy district attorney with Alameda County.
Consumer lawyers have challenged the debt collectors in courts across the United States, claiming that they lack the authority to threaten prosecution or to ask for fees for classes when no district attorney has reviewed the facts of the cases. The district attorneys are essentially renting out their stationery, the lawyers say, allowing the companies to give the impression that failure to respond could lead to charges, when it rarely does.
“This is guilty until proven innocent,” said Paul Arons, a consumer lawyer in Friday Harbor, Wash., about two hours north of Seattle.
The partnerships have proliferated from Los Angeles to Baltimore to Detroit, according to the National District Attorneys Association, as the stagnant economy leaves city and state officials grappling with budget shortfalls. Lawyers for the check writers estimate that more than 1 million of them are targeted a year. The two main debt collectors — California-based CorrectiveSolutions and BounceBack of Missouri — return millions of dollars each year to retailers including Safeway, Target and Walmart.
For more, visit www.nytimes.com.
Monday, March 19, 2012
GE Capital Fleet Services Launches New Toll Management Program
19 March 2012
GE Capital Fleet Services Launches New Toll Management Program
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--19 March 2012-- GE Capital Fleet Services today announced the launch of a new toll management program for fleet managers that increases their visibility of and control over toll expenses, while reducing administrative tasks and cost burdens. This new program is being unveiled as U.S. states and municipalities increasingly use toll collection as a source of revenue with the average toll violation increasing 20 percent from 2010 to 2011 to $60 per violation.
As part of the program, enrolled vehicles use electronic tolling lanes, a faster and typically cheaper alternative to cash lanes. On the back end, drivers no longer need to submit expense reports. Also, instead of fleet managers overseeing numerous toll accounts and working with multiple toll authorities to pay violations and reconcile errors, all accounts are consolidated into one and are managed by GE Capital Fleet Services.
Fleet managers receive one consolidated statement providing an increased ability to budget, forecast and analyze tolling behavior. They also have access to comprehensive online toll-usage reports and to GE Capital Fleet Services’ experts to help analyze the data and identify additional opportunities for cost savings.
“In addition to delivering hard cost savings and helping to eliminate toll violations, this program increases the productivity of fleet managers and drivers because they no longer have to spend time on administrative details such as submitting and processing expense reports or auditing toll charges,” said Brad Hoffelt, senior vice president & general manager of products and services at GE Capital Fleet Services. “As a leading fleet management company we’re continually identifying new ways to use technology to help customers maximize operational efficiency and manage their bottom line.”
Friday, March 9, 2012
News Release from Symantec
Autodesk Selects Symantec’s Clearwell eDiscovery Platform
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Mar. 6, 2012 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced that Autodesk, Inc., a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, has selected Symantec’s Clearwell eDiscovery Platform for in-house eDiscovery. Autodesk’s legal and IT teams will use Clearwell to gain greater control over the eDiscovery process, leveraging the solution to streamline eDiscovery procedures from legal hold through review and production in order to significantly reduce the time, resources and costs of eDiscovery.
Click to Tweet: Autodesk takes #eDiscovery in-house with @Symantec’s @Clearwell eDiscovery Platform: http://bit.ly/xLYZ8j
“With Symantec’s Clearwell platform, we are able to achieve significant cost savings and gain greater control over our eDiscovery processes,” said Lisa Turbis, senior corporate counsel at Autodesk. “We selected Clearwell because it provides the unique ability to handle many of our requirements in a single platform. This eliminates the complexity often associated with eDiscovery procedures while reducing the time and resources needed to implement a successful eDiscovery strategy.”
Symantec’s Clearwell eDiscovery Platform is the leading enterprise eDiscovery solution that helps organizations manage legal and regulatory matters with a single application. Using Clearwell, Autodesk can fully meet legal obligations by implementing a defensible legal hold workflow, then focus the collection of potentially relevant data across the organization through federated search-enabled keyword collection. Collected data is further reduced using the platform’s intelligent processing and culling capabilities. Autodesk’s legal team can significantly accelerate early case assessment with Clearwell’s sophisticated analytics including Transparent Search and discussion threads, as well as achieve cost-effective and defensible review through the solution’s comprehensive review capabilities. As a result, organizations like Autodesk can defensibly streamline the end-to-end eDiscovery process. The Clearwell eDiscovery Platform is further complimented by Symantec’s suite of intelligent information governance solutions, enabling organizations to bridge the gap between business, legal, and IT to reduce their risks and costs and work freely in a connected world.
“eDiscovery can be a complex and expensive process for any organization but particularly for large global enterprises experiencing today’s growth in electronically stored information on a magnified scale,” said Kurt Leafstrand, director of product management, Symantec Corp. “To proactively prepare for this emerging need, companies like Autodesk are implementing Symantec’s Clearwell eDiscovery Platform in-house to automate collections, perform strategic early case assessments, and gain greater control over the eDiscovery process. Symantec is pleased to help Autodesk build an in-house eDiscovery process and benefit from significant return on investment.”
Related
Click to Tweet: Autodesk takes #eDiscovery in-house with @Symantec’s @Clearwell eDiscovery Platform: http://bit.ly/xLYZ8j
“With Symantec’s Clearwell platform, we are able to achieve significant cost savings and gain greater control over our eDiscovery processes,” said Lisa Turbis, senior corporate counsel at Autodesk. “We selected Clearwell because it provides the unique ability to handle many of our requirements in a single platform. This eliminates the complexity often associated with eDiscovery procedures while reducing the time and resources needed to implement a successful eDiscovery strategy.”
Symantec’s Clearwell eDiscovery Platform is the leading enterprise eDiscovery solution that helps organizations manage legal and regulatory matters with a single application. Using Clearwell, Autodesk can fully meet legal obligations by implementing a defensible legal hold workflow, then focus the collection of potentially relevant data across the organization through federated search-enabled keyword collection. Collected data is further reduced using the platform’s intelligent processing and culling capabilities. Autodesk’s legal team can significantly accelerate early case assessment with Clearwell’s sophisticated analytics including Transparent Search and discussion threads, as well as achieve cost-effective and defensible review through the solution’s comprehensive review capabilities. As a result, organizations like Autodesk can defensibly streamline the end-to-end eDiscovery process. The Clearwell eDiscovery Platform is further complimented by Symantec’s suite of intelligent information governance solutions, enabling organizations to bridge the gap between business, legal, and IT to reduce their risks and costs and work freely in a connected world.
“eDiscovery can be a complex and expensive process for any organization but particularly for large global enterprises experiencing today’s growth in electronically stored information on a magnified scale,” said Kurt Leafstrand, director of product management, Symantec Corp. “To proactively prepare for this emerging need, companies like Autodesk are implementing Symantec’s Clearwell eDiscovery Platform in-house to automate collections, perform strategic early case assessments, and gain greater control over the eDiscovery process. Symantec is pleased to help Autodesk build an in-house eDiscovery process and benefit from significant return on investment.”
Related
Connect with Symantec
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
News Release from the FBI
New Twists to Telephone Collection Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans
| Washington, D.C.February 21, 2012 |
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) continues to receive complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. As previously reported in December 2010, the typical payday loan scam involves a caller who claims the victim is delinquent on a payday loan and must make payment to avoid legal consequences.
Callers pose as representatives of the FBI, “Federal Legislative Department,” various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies and claim to be collecting debts for companies such as United Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Net, or other Internet check-cashing services. The fraudsters relentlessly call the victim’s home, cell phone, and place of employment in attempts to obtain payment. The callers refuse to provide information regarding the alleged payday loan or any documentation and become verbally abusive when questioned.
The IC3 has observed variations of this scam in which the caller tells the victim that there are outstanding warrants for the victim’s arrest. The caller claims that the basis of the warrants is non-payment of the underlying loan and/or hacking. If it’s the latter, the caller tells the victim that he or she is wanted for hacking into a business’ computer system to steal customer information. The caller will then demand payment via debit/credit card; in other cases, the caller further instructs victims to obtain a prepaid card to cover the payment.
The high-pressure collection tactics used by the fraudsters have also evolved. In one recent complaint, a person posed as a process server and appeared at the victim’s job. In another instance, a phony process server came to a victim’s home. In both cases, after claiming to be serving a court summons, the alleged process server said the victim could avoid going to court if he or she provided a debit card number for repayment of the loan.
If you are contacted by someone who is trying to collect a debt that you do not owe, you should:
- Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger;
- Contact your bank(s) and credit card companies;
- Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file;
- If you have received a legitimate loan and want to verify that you do not have any outstanding obligation, contact the loan company directly;
- File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Tax Evasion Allegations
From the FBI, Chicago Division:
Operators of Elgin Adult Entertainment Club and Alleged Internet Gambling Business Charged with Concealing More Than $4 Million of Income from the IRS
CHICAGO—The operators of an adult entertainment club in Elgin were charged today with conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service in the collection of federal taxes, as well as separately operating an illegal Internet gambling business, in connection with allegedly diverting more than $4 million in unreported income to themselves from the two businesses. The defendants, Anthony Buttitta and his father, Dominic Buttitta, were charged in a two-count criminal information filed in U.S. District Court, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Alvin Patton, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Anthony Buttitta, 42, of St. Charles, and Dominic Buttitta, 69, of South Barrington, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the IRS in the collection of taxes and one count of operating an illegal gambling business. They will be ordered to appear for arraignment at a later date in U.S. District Court. The Buttittas operate Blackjacks Gentlemen’s Club in Elgin through Elgin Entertainment Enterprises, Inc., which manages Blackjacks. Between 2005 and 2009, they also ran an Internet gambling business, including the websites Skybook.com, Largejoe.com, and Theredhotel.com.
According to the charges, both Buttittas filed false federal corporate tax returns for calendar years 2002 through 2009, and false federal individual income tax returns for calendar years 2002 through 2008 that substantially under-reported the total income they received from the operation of Blackjacks and the gambling business. They allegedly concealed the diverted funds from their tax preparers and the IRS and used the unreported income to acquire personal property and to pay personal expenses.
The charges allege that the defendants received approximately $3,704,959 from “house” fees they collected from women for each shift they worked as dancers at Blackjacks. Anthony Buttitta directed club employees to maintain logs of the house fee collections, and both defendants later destroyed and caused the destruction of the log sheets, the charges allege. They also placed agents of their Internet gambling business on the payroll of another company to provide the employees with the appearance of a legitimate source of income and benefits. In return, the charges allege that they solicited and received kickbacks in the form of cash from the agents and concealed the payments from their tax preparers, bookkeepers and the IRS.
The defendants allegedly received approximately $1 million in gross wagers from the gambling business between 2005 and 2009, and made approximately $400,000 in net profits. The charges seek forfeiture of $400,000 as illegal proceeds.
At various times between 2005 and 2008, the defendants allegedly obtained unreported income from individuals as payment of losing wagers in the form of direct payments toward the purchase of a $2.9 million condominium in Las Vegas and a condominium in Costa Rica, as well as personal credit card payments. In 2005 and 2006, Anthony Buttitta used approximately $400,000 in cash to pay for building and acquiring his home in St. Charles, according to the charges.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. In addition, defendants convicted of tax offenses must pay the costs of prosecution and remain liable for any and all back taxes, as well as a civil fraud penalty of 75 percent of the underpayment plus interest. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick King.
The public is reminded that an information contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Operators of Elgin Adult Entertainment Club and Alleged Internet Gambling Business Charged with Concealing More Than $4 Million of Income from the IRS
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 02, 2012 |
CHICAGO—The operators of an adult entertainment club in Elgin were charged today with conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service in the collection of federal taxes, as well as separately operating an illegal Internet gambling business, in connection with allegedly diverting more than $4 million in unreported income to themselves from the two businesses. The defendants, Anthony Buttitta and his father, Dominic Buttitta, were charged in a two-count criminal information filed in U.S. District Court, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Alvin Patton, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Anthony Buttitta, 42, of St. Charles, and Dominic Buttitta, 69, of South Barrington, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the IRS in the collection of taxes and one count of operating an illegal gambling business. They will be ordered to appear for arraignment at a later date in U.S. District Court. The Buttittas operate Blackjacks Gentlemen’s Club in Elgin through Elgin Entertainment Enterprises, Inc., which manages Blackjacks. Between 2005 and 2009, they also ran an Internet gambling business, including the websites Skybook.com, Largejoe.com, and Theredhotel.com.
According to the charges, both Buttittas filed false federal corporate tax returns for calendar years 2002 through 2009, and false federal individual income tax returns for calendar years 2002 through 2008 that substantially under-reported the total income they received from the operation of Blackjacks and the gambling business. They allegedly concealed the diverted funds from their tax preparers and the IRS and used the unreported income to acquire personal property and to pay personal expenses.
The charges allege that the defendants received approximately $3,704,959 from “house” fees they collected from women for each shift they worked as dancers at Blackjacks. Anthony Buttitta directed club employees to maintain logs of the house fee collections, and both defendants later destroyed and caused the destruction of the log sheets, the charges allege. They also placed agents of their Internet gambling business on the payroll of another company to provide the employees with the appearance of a legitimate source of income and benefits. In return, the charges allege that they solicited and received kickbacks in the form of cash from the agents and concealed the payments from their tax preparers, bookkeepers and the IRS.
The defendants allegedly received approximately $1 million in gross wagers from the gambling business between 2005 and 2009, and made approximately $400,000 in net profits. The charges seek forfeiture of $400,000 as illegal proceeds.
At various times between 2005 and 2008, the defendants allegedly obtained unreported income from individuals as payment of losing wagers in the form of direct payments toward the purchase of a $2.9 million condominium in Las Vegas and a condominium in Costa Rica, as well as personal credit card payments. In 2005 and 2006, Anthony Buttitta used approximately $400,000 in cash to pay for building and acquiring his home in St. Charles, according to the charges.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. In addition, defendants convicted of tax offenses must pay the costs of prosecution and remain liable for any and all back taxes, as well as a civil fraud penalty of 75 percent of the underpayment plus interest. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick King.
The public is reminded that an information contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)