BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is shutting down an illegal debt collection business operating in Western New York.
The AG has come to an agreement with Buffalo-based debt collector Andrew Fanelli and his companies — Northwood Asset Management Group LLC, Pinnacle Asset Recovery Group LLC, and Koalaty Pay LLC — that permanently bans them from any future debt collection.
Fanelli is also required to dissolve all his companies within six months and $1.2 million must be paid to the OAG in restitution and penalties.
According to the AG, call recordings revealed collectors working for those companies used illegal tactics to collect debt which included false threats of criminal action, wage garnishment, driver’s license suspension and lawsuits.
New Yorkers can trust that I will always stand up for our most vulnerable, especially when their wallets are at risk. While illegal debt collectors have used Buffalo as their hub of operations for illicit conduct for years, we are continuing to fight back and shut down these companies one by one. The unlawful behavior perpetrated by Andrew Fanelli and his companies defrauded consumers, but this agreement will end their illegal behavior, once and for all. I encourage anyone who may have fallen victim to these deceptive debt collectors to immediately file a claim with our office to recover what was unlawfully taken from them.
The attorney general said any consumer who was the subject of the illegal tactics by Northwood Asset Management Group may be entitled to restitution. You can file a complaint with the OAG’s Buffalo Regional Office here.
