This story appeared in Bank Digest.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit against FCO Holding, Inc., and its subsidiaries, Fair Collections & Outsourcing, Inc.; Fair Collections & Outsourcing of New England, Inc.; and FCO Worldwide, Inc., as well as Michael E. Sobota, the chief executive officer, president, director, and owner of FCO Holding, Inc. All of the entities are Maryland-based debt collectors that operate collectively under the names Fair Collections & Outsourcing and FCO, the Bureau said.
The Bureau alleges that FCO violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Regulation V, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act by, among other things, failing to establish or implement reasonable written policies and procedures regarding the accuracy and integrity of the information it furnished to consumer reporting companies, specifically with respect to its handling of indirect disputes. The Bureau also alleges that FCO and Sobota violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when FCO represented that consumers owed certain debts when FCO did not have a reasonable basis for such assertions.
The Bureau's complaint seeks an injunction, as well as damages, redress, disgorgement of alleged ill-gotten gains, and the imposition of a civil money penalty.