WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Dec. 6 that after a settlement, three defendants posing as lawyers that falsely threatened consumers into paying debts they did not owe will be banned from the debt collection business.
The defendants are Hardco Holding Group LLC, S&H Financial Group Inc. and Daryl M. Hall. All defendants do business as Alliance Law Group. According to the FTC, the defendants attempted to strong-arm people into paying phantom debts by threatening them with prison time or claiming police would come to their house.
Under the terms of the proposed order, the defendants are banned from the debt collection business. Additionally, they will surrender certain assets instead of paying a $702,059 judgment. If the FTC finds that they misrepresented their financial condition, the full monetary penalty will be enforced.
The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the proposed stipulated order, which was entered by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida Orlando Division on Dec. 5.
The case against the remaining defendant, Dequan M. Sicard, is ongoing.