April 4, 2018

Georgia announced an $8.5 million settlement with National Check Resolution, Inc., resolving charges that the debt collection company committed multiple violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act. National Check Resolution, owner Samuel Tulumello and manager Rhonda Tulumello are alleged to have repeatedly harassed and deceived consumers by representing that consumers had committed a crime and threatening them with arrest or imprisonment if they did not pay the debt; falsely representing themselves as attorneys, legal couriers or government entities; failing to disclose that they were debt collectors attempting to collect a debt; contacting third parties and divulging information about the debtor’s account; and collecting or attempting to collect debts from Georgia consumers that resulted from payday loans, which are illegal and enforceable under Georgia law. GA