Stop The Calls Fast

“As found all over the internet:

“Congressman Gary Ackerman’s good friends, the Zises Brothers, will sue near 200,000 Americans this year for credit card default using the trade name “Unifund” registered with the Ohio Secretary of State (The trademark documents are available on-line and free.) Since the trademark “Unifund” is owned by a partnership, Credit Card Receivables Fund and ZB Limited Partnership, proceed checks to “Unifund” can be deposited into an account at the Israeli Discount Bank (IDB) for ZB Limited Partnership and/or Credit Card Receivables Fund without being declared as income for Unifund CCR Partners (…hey State of Ohio, I think you will want your cut). My guess is that it is about a 90% skim.

The Zises Brothers doing this skim are the same Zises Brothers of Integrated Resources; a tax shelter scam that went bust some time ago. They are experts is avoiding income tax, and this scam is no different. In most states, Unifund is not registered with the Secretary of State as a tax paying business enterprise. That is because State code specifically excludes the filing of a collection lawsuit from the definition of “doing business”. The legal theory goes along the lines that collection lawsuits are “loss mitigation” and not an inherently profit making enterprise. The IRS has similar rules that the Zises Brothers entities abuse to avoid declaring income.

The Zises Brothers have applied this tax avoiding principle to a business they have where the principle activity is to sue for profit…HUGE profits. Unifund has a contract with Asta Funding dba Palisades Collections to sue people on behalf of Asta Funding for a percentage of the judgment. This contract is for the purchase of bad credit card debit from Citibank and is funded, in part, by the Israeli Discount Bank for nearly $900M. Copies of the contracts can be purchased on-line. Much of it is available in publicly traded Asta Funding quarterly statements. One of them specifically rewards Unifund with a 50% premium for collecting “outside the Statute of Limitations”. Hey FBI, sounds like a violation of the RICO Act to me.

Now, where does the money go after it gets to ZB Limited Partnership. Well, ZB Limited Partnership at 767 3rd ave NY, NY is registered with the Ohio Secretary of State as a Foreign Corporation (doc available on-line and free) out of Delaware. You can search the Delaware Secretary of State database for legal entities, and you will find scores of filings by the Zises Brothers, including ZB Limited Partnership and Credit Card Receivables Fund, Inc. You will have to pay a fee for a copy of the document. Anyway, ZB Limited Partnership is owned by ZB/CCR Corp. (another account at the IDB). By the way, 31% of the Israeli Discount Bank is owned by the Israeli Government, and has been fined $12M for failing to implement anti-money laundering regulations.

The ZB/CCR Corp filing with the Delaware secretary of State has an interesting mailing address “C/O Forest Hill Capital, 800 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017″. Forest Hill Capital is the old name for Family Management Corp (FMC), another IDB account; the same Zises Brothers company that manages the Congressman’s money. So, now we know where the Unifund skim goes. But, this is where the trail gets very interesting.

Numerous business databases, including Manta, have a company known as Associated Capital, L.P. or A Capital or ACAP at 767 3rd Avenue 16th Floor, NY, NY. That is the same address as ZB Limited Partnership in the Ohio trademark filing (first one). Associated Capital was the single biggest contributor to funds supporting activity against the recently enacted finical and banking reforms. Gary, what sweetheart amendments did you get st save Associated Capital for the Zises Brothers?

It is a sure bet that the single biggest FMC investment is with Associated Capital. Does Associated Capital actually make any money? Or is it principal function to loose money, lots of money, for its clients (such as ZB/CCR Corp.)? If they loose so much, where does it all go? Let me shed a little light on the answer to this question:

“This Schedule 13G is being filed jointly by Associated Capital, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (”Associated”), its general partner, A Cap, Inc., a New York Corporation (”A Cap”), Jay H. Zises, the President and a director of A Cap, Selig A. Zises, Vice President, Treasurer and a director of A Cap, Nancy J. Frankel-Zises, a director, Vice President and Secretary and the sole stockholder of A Cap, and Associated Capital Offshore, L.P., a Cayman Islands limited partnership (”Associated Offshore”). Associated, A Cap, Jay H. Zises, Selig A. Zises, Nancy J. Frankel-Zises and Associated Offshore are hereinafter sometime referred to collectively as the “Reporting Persons”. The business address of Associated Offshore is c/o Goldman Sachs(Cayman) Trust, Limited, P.O. Box 896, George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies. The business address of each other Reporting Person is 477 Madison Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, New York, 10022. Jay H. Zises, Selig A. Zises and Nancy J. Frankel-Zises are each United States citizens.”

I find it very interesting that the Israeli Discount Bank on 5th avenue in New Youk has semi-autonomous branches in Zurich Switzerland, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile and the Cayman Islands. Congressman Gary Ackerman, did you “loose” any money with FMC?”

Last week I mentioned I was reading the report whose title this blog bears. If could give an elevator speech (summation in 10 seconds) about the almost 100 pages I read and all the footnotes (read them just to be sure I would not miss anything)I would say that the majority of consumers are totally clueless about their statutory rights under existing federal and state laws.

This report covered lots of topics ranging from proper legal service when debt collectors sue or the lack of it ,failure to document claims by debt collectors, i.e., no documents just hearsay, resorting to arbitration where in many cases the arbitrators were clearly biased in favor of the debt collectors, inveigling consumers to make partial payments on out of statute debts but failing to tell them that those payments would put the SOL clock back to day 1.

The statistics in the report conclusively prove that the average consumer does not stand a chance if sued or harassed by a debt collector if he or she does not know their rights. That is where people like me enter the picture. Any client who purchased my system knows exactly how to defend themselves against aggressive debt collectors and if they have questions all they have to do is email me. Believe me when I say that those who buy up old debts know what they are doing and you don’t. That is why collectively this segment of the debt collection industry is raking in billions of dollars. I said billions not millions. We hear a lot of talk about financial reform and more protection for consumers. Don’t hold your breath. Those on the dark side of the force have lots of money to lobby for what they want. Remember “Charity begins at home”.

As you can see from my last post I am plowing through the Federal Trade Commission report discussed therein footnotes and all. I need lots of coffee for this. One of the facts that comes out of this report or rather just jumps off the page is the fact that debt collectors fail to inform consumers that if the consumer makes a partial payment on an out of statute or time barred debt that the statute of limitations begins anew making it possible for the debt collector to legally sue the consumer as opposed to before the partial payment when it would have been illegal to do so.  Of course how many consumers would know these important facts?

One of the offenders or entities that does not bother to inform consumers of the aforementioned is Asta Funding more commonly known as Palisades Acquisitions headquartered on Sylvan Ave. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. They as a matter of practice buy out of statute debt and attempt to collect on it. How do you feel about a junk debt buyer purchasing a debt that was $10,000.00 when charged off for $500.00 and demanding payment of the whole ten grand plus accrued interest?

Not informing consumers about the consequences of making a payment on an old debt according to the FTC report seems to be a common practice among debt collectors who also seem to have a pious or holier than thou attitude as if they are doing no wrong.

One of the statistical facts coming from this report is that in New York City it is estimated that as much as 95% of the debt collector lawsuits result in default judgments because consumers (defendants) fail to appear or answer the complaints. Debt collectors who participated in round table discussions maintained that the reason defendants failed to answer the complaints was because they had no defense. What a crock!! I find the reasoning coming from debt collectors to border of the absurd or moronic. It certainly is disgustingly self serving.

Finally on a more humorous note last week at a business conference involving social media I met a very interesting fellow. At the cocktail party following the afternoon session he introduced himself to me as a marketer of some product resembling Amway and also a sales representative of a discount legal service. He asked me what did for a living or what my business was. I explained what StoptheCallsFast was to him. He listened and then proceeded to inform me that if you ignored debt collector phone calls and letters that they would never sue you; rather they would just go away.  Well need I say more? I always like to end my blogs with a joke when possible and he was funny. More to follow.