Hope they are ready for what, for you to tell them you are not going to pay your bill.  I'm sure they are expecting that.

A message was left from Burke's law firm stating that neither Robert Z. or his attorney
had responded by mail and a summons has been prepared in our county, and that this was final notice.

BREAKING NEWS

Suit claims attorney sold use of his name to debt collectors so they could threaten and intimidate consumers

Video on Front Page of www.consumerjustice.com

BUFFALO, NY (May 6, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced his office has sued a Western New York lawyer who sold debt collectors the use of his name, which the debt collectors then used to intimidate consumers by threatening bogus legal action. The action is the latest in Attorney General Cuomo?s ongoing probe into unlawful debt collection practices.

Cuomo?s office sued Williamsville-based attorney John P. Nicolia after an investigation determined that he collected $141,000 in fees in return for allowing debt collectors to threaten consumers across the country by using his name and his law firm?s name. In reality, Nicolia never provided any actual legal services for the debt collection company, Eastern Asset Management.

?The lawsuit alleges that this attorney knowingly allowed a debt collection firm to use his name to threaten, intimidate, and harass consumers, while he sat back and profited without having to do any actual work,? said Attorney General Cuomo. ?Our investigation into illegal debt collection practices has uncovered layer upon layer of abusive acts, and we will continue to root out the bad players in this industry.?

An investigation by Attorney General Cuomo?s Office determined that Nicolia, despite being paid $69,000 in 2008 and $72,000 in 2009, has no records to show that he provided any legal services to the debt collection companies. However, the collectors employed his name repeatedly - with Nicolia?s knowledge - in attempts to collect debts:

   * Collectors who called the consumers to collect on the debts claimed that they were calling from, or working with, ?the Law Office of John Nicolia.?
   * Collectors sent standardized ?settlement? letters citing non-existent judgments to consumers believed to owe debts, claiming ??our legal counsel, John Nicolia, Esq. may review the status of your particular case at anytime.?

The debt collection company, after invoking Nicolia?s name, often falsely stated that the consumers:

   * Had lawsuits filed against them
   * Would have their driver?s licenses suspended
   * Would be charged with a crime
   * Would be imprisoned or lose their property if they didn?t pay

Attorney General Cuomo?s lawsuit seeks a court order barring Nicolia from allowing debt collection companies to use his name, as well as imposing significant civil penalties against Nicolia for the violations.

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the New York State debt collection and consumer protection laws prohibit the following conduct: posing as an attorney, threatening lawsuits or other legal action which cannot be taken, saying a consumer committed a crime or will be arrested, and talking with third parties except to get location information. The law further requires collection agencies to send a written notice within five days of initial communication with the consumer explaining how he or she can dispute the debt. If properly disputed, the collection agency must stop all collection attempts and send verification.

Since commencing the statewide initiative in May 2009, Cuomo has shut down 14 debt collection and affiliated process serving companies and required others to reform their deceptive practices. His office has also garnered criminal convictions against 10 collectors who engaged in especially egregious and threatening actions against consumers. The investigation is ongoing and lawsuits against several other collection companies are pending.

Cuomo urges consumers to visit www.NYDebtHelp.com to learn their rights. The site allows victims of debt collection and debt settlement companies quick access to the Attorney General?s office to file complaints, and outlines the stages of the Attorney General?s investigation.

The matters are being handled by Assistant Attorney General James Morrissey under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs J. David Sampson and Special Deputy Chief of Staff Mitra Hormozi.

BREAKING NEWS

Suit claims attorney sold use of his name to debt collectors so they could threaten and intimidate consumers

Video on Front Page of www.consumerjustice.com

BUFFALO, NY (May 6, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced his office has sued a Western New York lawyer who sold debt collectors the use of his name, which the debt collectors then used to intimidate consumers by threatening bogus legal action. The action is the latest in Attorney General Cuomo?s ongoing probe into unlawful debt collection practices.

Cuomo?s office sued Williamsville-based attorney John P. Nicolia after an investigation determined that he collected $141,000 in fees in return for allowing debt collectors to threaten consumers across the country by using his name and his law firm?s name. In reality, Nicolia never provided any actual legal services for the debt collection company, Eastern Asset Management.

?The lawsuit alleges that this attorney knowingly allowed a debt collection firm to use his name to threaten, intimidate, and harass consumers, while he sat back and profited without having to do any actual work,? said Attorney General Cuomo. ?Our investigation into illegal debt collection practices has uncovered layer upon layer of abusive acts, and we will continue to root out the bad players in this industry.?

An investigation by Attorney General Cuomo?s Office determined that Nicolia, despite being paid $69,000 in 2008 and $72,000 in 2009, has no records to show that he provided any legal services to the debt collection companies. However, the collectors employed his name repeatedly - with Nicolia?s knowledge - in attempts to collect debts:

   * Collectors who called the consumers to collect on the debts claimed that they were calling from, or working with, ?the Law Office of John Nicolia.?
   * Collectors sent standardized ?settlement? letters citing non-existent judgments to consumers believed to owe debts, claiming ??our legal counsel, John Nicolia, Esq. may review the status of your particular case at anytime.?

The debt collection company, after invoking Nicolia?s name, often falsely stated that the consumers:

   * Had lawsuits filed against them
   * Would have their driver?s licenses suspended
   * Would be charged with a crime
   * Would be imprisoned or lose their property if they didn?t pay

Attorney General Cuomo?s lawsuit seeks a court order barring Nicolia from allowing debt collection companies to use his name, as well as imposing significant civil penalties against Nicolia for the violations.

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the New York State debt collection and consumer protection laws prohibit the following conduct: posing as an attorney, threatening lawsuits or other legal action which cannot be taken, saying a consumer committed a crime or will be arrested, and talking with third parties except to get location information. The law further requires collection agencies to send a written notice within five days of initial communication with the consumer explaining how he or she can dispute the debt. If properly disputed, the collection agency must stop all collection attempts and send verification.

Since commencing the statewide initiative in May 2009, Cuomo has shut down 14 debt collection and affiliated process serving companies and required others to reform their deceptive practices. His office has also garnered criminal convictions against 10 collectors who engaged in especially egregious and threatening actions against consumers. The investigation is ongoing and lawsuits against several other collection companies are pending.

Cuomo urges consumers to visit www.NYDebtHelp.com to learn their rights. The site allows victims of debt collection and debt settlement companies quick access to the Attorney General?s office to file complaints, and outlines the stages of the Attorney General?s investigation.

The matters are being handled by Assistant Attorney General James Morrissey under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs J. David Sampson and Special Deputy Chief of Staff Mitra Hormozi.

i got a call from these idiots threatening me with a subpoena because i would not take his number and call him back about a relative.

I applied for that too, but had some reservations about it.  Shoulda listened to my instinct.  What made you realize it was bogus?  I deleted my account with beyond.com, but of course I already sent them my resume and cover letter. I'm hoping that it won't lead to any problems...

Burgess and Sons Law Firm has gone so far as to put a fake job posting on Craigslist.  When I applied for the position, I got an instant email back from a Mary Davidsin (odd spelling of last name!!), directing me to a weblink that turned out to be Beyond.com, supposedly a personnel agency.  I filled out the first few lines, thinking that it was part of the application process for the job posting.  When I realized it was all bogus, it was too late, I had already given them my phone number and address.  Now I'm just waiting for the "other shoe to drop" to see what they are up to!!  I have reported all of this to Craigslist.

This company, do not know the callers name, but it had to do with a debt that was discharged in 2004.  They have the guts to call my daughter, who is very,  very ill, and any stress like this could cause her great damage.  I have not called this company yet, but I will tomorrow am and give them a really big piece of my mind.  If they contact my daughter again ,there will be a police report about this company. I also will contact the Attorny General.

so u want to come on here and call ppl dead beats and say they stole money that they tell nothen but lies, well you cant talk about everyone and who says ur not with this company? i have not had anything bad happen yet but i am dealing with a nother company that just wanted to take more then what i had own dem and when i told them i would start sending them money orders they bc rude threaten my life, called me and my family names, has been and still is harassing me and my family,  no company no mater who u are you have no right to make someones life a living hell u should have never lend them the money..u know sometimes things happen in ppls lives that they have no power over and bc come in debt by the time they get back on thier feet companies stoped working with them and has charged them amounts they cant tell u how it came to b but say its charges...so if u want someone to work with u and give u what u want then u have to work with them and if u gat smart or rude or is harassing ppl and then want them to pay u back thats a joke its a two way street. not all ppl will have the same thing happen to them not all ppl will speak to just one person and now a days u have to make sure when u give money to a company to pay a debt that they are who they say they are bc there is so many scams of ppl taking ur money but it still stays on ur debt or u find out that the ppl u paid to pay this debt off had nothen to do with that company and u still owe the money...i have tried to look up this office in the yellow pages and i cant find them they say they are a law office and all law office is located in the yellow pages they only thing i find when i type in the law office of john nicola or the law office of EMA and john nicola is just compaints even when i search they number i have for them. so dont say that everyone is telling lies bc u dont know that

This person Jennifer called someone I don't even know to get to me. They are harassing me and has never sent me information via mail. They need to be stopped. Giving what is going on with the economy and people living pay checks to pay checks, we do not need to be harassed. This is pure harrassment and they  via the "LAW" they can be sued. How is it they can get away with this and change their name to try and scare people.

they said they were from a law firm and if i didn't pay them $900 they were going to report me to my bank and it would be on my record for 7 years and i would not ever have a checking or debit card again

Man name Joe Maltisano called and started threatening me about an apparent lawsuit I have against me. ASked for my SS # and started cursing and saying I am being ridiculous for not cooperating. He became very irrate and said he needed to speak to my lawyer ( ?). I reserched this number and it is purely a scam to get your bank account info. They try to scare you by saying there is a lawsuit. I asked for a subpoena and he said his office does not do them. Some office, huh???

I get calls everyday sometimes twice a day from this number, they claim to have a civil suit against me, and are demanding my credit card info, and or banking info.  I refused, and decided to look them up.  They are scamers!

THEY ARE EASTERN MANAGEMENT SERVICES A COLLECTION COMPANY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HAS BEEN NOTIFIED IN MY STATE THAT THEY ARE CROOKS DO NOT PAY THEY ARE TRYING TO COLLECT OLD DEBTS THAT HAVE EITHER BEEN PAID OFF OR DISMISSED THROUGH BKS

I received a called from Investigator William Turner (Im thinking Pirates of the Carribean!?)....anyway, he said that he is calling for a petition for a court order for my appearance in reference to some bad checks.
He is being told to contact the county clerk and district attorney for a subpeaona and that he needs to get a statement, my side of the story, in reference to these allegations.  Failure to respond will result in a summons to be issued by the Country Sheriffs or local city authorities.
He said, "I need to speak to you as soon as you get this "hun", talk to you soon"  WHAT!??  Hun!!??

I am wondering if this can really happen.  Of course when I heard him call me "hun" I have a hard time believing this.  But he seems to have a lot of my personal information.  Very scary.  Anyone have any advise?  Call an attorney?  Do I have time?
Thanks!  Im so glad I found this!

They called my home number looking for someone I don't even know.  Then the man told me this persons maiden name was the same as my last name which meant this person was my sister.  I don't have a sister....and not one with that persons name.  The man was rude and yelled at me.  They will not leave me or my family alone.

Received call from this so called law firm this afternoon.  Have caller ID but didn't pick up. I have no idea who the person is they want to talk to because it was my husbands first name but a totally different last name.  The call was made by a Mr. Chestnut (yes, that's the name he gave).  After stumbling over the persons name he was leaving the message for, he proceeded to say that they received a legal document from the court and he needed to talk about it before going ahead and doing anything.  What a joke outfit.  About a month ago, a family member received a call from this same number but a different outfit asking questions about me.  The woman was very rude and nasty when she was told she wasn't getting any personal information because I did not live there and if she wanted it so bad she'd have to find the number and call me herself.  I never received a phone call

legalese,

So where do you stand currently?  I'd love to hear about it when you shove it up their ***.  They're harrassing us...I love when they say "we're contacting you for a matter that's been forwarded to us by the US Courts"...huh?  Idiots, they can't even come up with a better opening.  "US Courts"...really?  Care to make it more specific?  

With us, they're trying to say we owe some payday loan company...I can attest with 100% certainty I've never taken a "payday loan", let alone even heard of said company.  Anyway, I asked "Mrs. Benjamin" if it were maybe just the slightest bit possible that, due to the fact we have very common first and last names, they have mixed us up with someone else.  

I then told her I was aware of the dozens of complaints filed with the NY AG's office against "EAM".  That's when she got very flustered and stammered that "you'll go to jail" before hanging up.  Wow, apparently this is now a criminal matter...I could go to jail.  No, "Mrs. Benjamin", please take my money and just leave me alone.

Dear visitors,

THIS IS A SCAM ARTIST. I have contacted the FBI, FTC, and Ohio Attorney General. I only received a response from one of the aforementioned. And that was all I needed to ensure three things.

"Burgess Law/EAM" or whatever other scam name they use, are all indeed, illegally attempting to collect debt through harassment. I've filed a full report as requested by the AG and they are looking into it now. Also, I was instructed by one agency employee to contact New York. So I called both The offices of "Burgess/EAM" and later the Authorities. I was then instructed to forward information to the NY Bar Assc which I spent 2 hours last night doing. I think the hammer is about to come down on old (sp)Cicero. They are doing illegal activity and morally and ethically are wrong. Not that they have any ethics or morals. I was not surprised by my talking to him last night. I made him feel about an inch tall. He even hung up on me and I called right back. Once documents start flying his way, he's really going to enjoy himself.

The main concern here, is that I owe no debt. I am 100% debt free. My credit score is perfect. So I know it was previous tenants. Therefore he is harassing the wrong person.

He was also extremely vulgar and trying to sound intelligent actually at first. He stated that "everything on the web isn't believable" and I cut him off immediately and made him aware of the canned-schpiel approach would not work with a person of my stature. I've recorded all conversations and actually it only took me about 30 seconds to bait him into infractions. Not only are they not adhering to federal guidelines and statutes, but they are bordering on blatantly disregarding the law. They are supposedly representing as an attorney/client liaison. A Bi***-boy. A middle man that makes dirt. Therefore they have NO legal power. NONE. They CANNOT GARNISH YOUR WAGES. THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING. If they knew anything about the law and procedure, you'd have first class mail in your inbox. they wouldn't harass and argue with you on the phone trying to "trick" you into paying them up front. They have ZERO AUTHORITY.

Think of this team of thugs as just some drunk college kids sitting in a little cubicle scheming on ways to drum up more beer money. Pretty much what Joe Cisero is doing. That name sounds familiar doesn't it? More on that later. Humor these idiots when they call you. Just laugh. Tell them to "send the police" or official documents to your inbox. It will never happen.

Joe messed up when he called me. And I'm going to prove it to him, "Burgess/EAM", as well as you guys here. Details soon. You want legalese? You got it.

My sister in law received a phone call from a Henry Patterson from the Law office of John Necolia stating that they needed to get a hold of me to settle a debt or they were going to put a lean on my vehicle. I called them back and he was talking about a debt that I had taken care of in 2007 I told him that I have a letter from the collection agency stating a settlement and cancelled checks of everything that  paid. He said that does not matter that the company was bought out by Bank of American and that they want there money. Its a Scam that debt is not even on my credit report anymore .....

Burgess Law is also perpetrating a scam as the John Nicola law firm,
trying to extort money for anyone they can. Don't let them scare or intimidate you! They are liars! Cheats! Con artists! Report them and let's get them all arested and convicted!

Yes they can get a judgement placed against u and it will take a percentage out of your paycheck before taxes and before u even get it

Your an idio I used to work at Burgess Law Firm and they are on wherle drive in the Commons Business park at the corner of wherle drive and Harris Hill they aren't on google maps because the Business park was just finished being built, and why would you take wherle drive to Lockport? Wherle drive runs parallel to Lockport it never goes anywhere near it its about 6 miles away you obviously have no clue what your talking about oh yeah and watch what happens when u don't pay them they will sue your a**

So your debt is all paid off, you are basking in the warm, fuzzy glow of rightousness, and you just had to find your way here to announce this wonderful happening.

Who do you think you're kidding, troll?

You know I think all you people are crazy u go online and write lies about other people because u think its going to get u out of paying your bills! Your all a bunch of dead beats if u ask me. I spoke to a Mr Huniger from Nicolia Law Office and he helped me so much he was kind and curtious and really seemed to care about helping me he gave me a huge discount on the bill and I know he did because I remember what I borrowed and he let me settle for $100 less and I borrowed the money 6 months ago there was no scam at all and I'm glad I didn't listen to u morons.  I went and spoke to my attorney and he told me I should pay because they really could sue me if I just ignored this so I paid it and now my credit is better and all is well!! So I warn people don't listen to the lunatics on this site who are just looking to steal money from people by getting loans and charging up credit cards and when it comes time to pay they yell scam and try to get out of paying their bills! PAY WHAT YOU OWE...

I received a call from this number.  I called back because I was told that a civil suit was being filed against me.  When I told the guy that this credit card debt was already paid and settled he told me that it was not because my credit report (he had a copy of my credit report!) said that it was charged off, which is not the same as settled.  He told me that I had until noon the next day to find proof that the debt was settled or he was going to issue a subpoena for me to go to civil court regarding the matter.  When I called him back the next day and requested their address he seemed to get upset but I eventually got it out of him.  Thats when I started to get suspicious and did some online research only to come across this site.  It seems that this company has now changed its name to the Law Offices of John Nicola.  Just wanted everyone to be aware of this scam.

last night I recieve a call from my sister in law stating that Mr.Huniger called and left a message stating that they we trying to reach me and this is a serious matter and left personal info on what it was regarding, and to have my lawyer and me contact them@888-754-0040 ext 329.
I called them back it was Eastern Asset Management, law office of John Nicolia. Aorund 5:38 am pacific time they called me, he stated that I needs to clear this matter up by monday or this will be sent to mt county and legal actions will be taken and that I would be served papers. Then he asked me well we can clear up this matter be writting a post dated check for the end of this month. I refused and he started yelling at me so I hung...

A "Ms Johnson" lady called us saying I'm in a civil law suit but can be settled outside the court. Ridiculously this law firm is not even in the state we live in. The phone number they left is Eastern Asset Management....so things are pretty clear.....

when I called Back Mr.Huniger@888-754-0040 the mesage stated Eastern Asset Managment, they also go by number 716-839-9270

I recieved a called at my work from Mr.Huniger from the Law of office of John Nicolia, stating that we need to dodcuss a very important matter and tey need me and my Lawyrer to contact ASAP. please call them back@888-754-0040 ext.329