Debt Collectors Accused of Running Fake Courtroom

Collection agency Unicredit America is accused of staging a fake courtroom complete with fake judge in an attempt to convince visiting debtors to pay. Officials in Pennsylvania were so impressed that the Attorney General has invited victims to plead their case in front of a real judge. From the article: "The Attorney General's Office told Team 4 that Unicredit lured debtors to the building by sending employees who appeared to be sheriff's deputies to their homes, implying that they would be taken into custody if they failed to appear at the phony court hearings. 'It really galls me that someone would stoop that low,' Erie County Sheriff Robert Merski said. 'This certainly seems to be a scam, and it upsets me that they are trying to play on the integrity of this office, the office of sheriff. We've been here since the beginning of the United States.'"

What the hell?!

[KriticKill]

Integrity of the office? What the fuck? Its a damn crime, stand up for your position, fuckwad! It is illegal for any unauthorized person to attempt in guise, manner, appearance, or behavior to give the impression that they are a judge, police officer, marshal, federal agent, or pretty much any other government position. Hell you can't even buy police uniforms for this very reason.

Re:

[RockDoctor]

Hell you can't even buy police uniforms for this very reason.

You can buy them, but [dailymail.co.uk] you have to be careful what you do with them.

The only right thing to do...

[ComputerGeek01]

Is to declare the debts collected by this collection company in this way as void and have them repay the money they collected to the people they scammed. Nothing else will get through to companies like this, it isn't the first time a debt collection agency has broken the law specifically by impersonating police officers and threatening false legal action in fact it seems to happen more and more often.