For at least the last year, an illegal group of debt collectors have been terrorizing consumers, their family, friends, and employees threatening to arrest the individual of an unpaid loan or other debt (their generally don't even owe). Be aware debt is a civil matter, not a criminal matter, and you can't be arrested. They threaten a warrant if the victim does not pay a sum of money by the credit card over the phone.

Some of the people they are calling do not owe a debt.  Others they are calling have already settled their debt with the organization who owns the accounts. Even if you do owe a debt, do not be deceived by the actions of this group.  Many of the accounts they are attempting to collect they do not own.  In other words, if you pay these people, that is not going to clear your debt with its rightful owner.  

Although when pressed the callers give the victim an address in Columbia South Carolina (usually a vacant lot) or Atlanta GA (often a parking lot near the bus station or a Peachtree Road Address). They are actually out of the Charlotte North Carolina area. The scammers are using the following business names (and there are many others, and they seem to create new ones daily).  They will normally answer the call back number as ?Investigations?

Reynolds, Hill, and Associates
Berkley and Associates
Kaufmann and Associates
Sanderson Blaine & Associates
Blaine and Associates
McKenzie Reid Associates
Kennedy, Kline, & Associates
Nationwide Asset and Recovery
Piedmont Investigations and Procurement
Raffino, Garrison, & McCoy
Greenman, Schwartz & Associates
McCoy Law Group
Salem Associates
Reynolds and Associates
Ryan, Carter and Fields
Berman, Maxwell and associates
DOF Investigations

Here is a set of links to a variety of threads on this forum that document this group and its behavior. They include the experiences of victims as well as a former employee or two that quit within a week of finding out exactly what was going on. They also include responses from consumer advocates and people who are really criminal justice professionals advising victims of what to do

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-748-8367
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-719-1725
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-676-3492
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-805-5549
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-751-1084
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-803-2349
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-775-2417
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-775-2418
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-755-3417
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-746-3946
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-676-3485
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-3768
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-699-9749/2
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-6246
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-678-5437
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-967-0061
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-746-3948
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-791-2353
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-699-6246
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-735-8624
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-751-1083
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-736-3678/2
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-8529
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-967-2633
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-460-1576
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-609-3074
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-576-6210
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-601-5849
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-230-1283
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-658-0438
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-510-9327
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-509-0338
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-803-0755
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-511-0627
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-509-3033
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-509-0339
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-511-0631
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-883-2350/2
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-244-3381
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-0269
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-295-9550
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-6277
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-511-4248
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-725-5312
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-756-9997
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-1278
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-0531
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-0273
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-719-5041
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-791-9102
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-512-400-2637
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-585-730-6153
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-1712
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-657-1430

Do not give this company any of your money. It's fraud which is funny since they claim they are calling from the fraud department. I'm not sure how they get all of your personal information. I was close to paying them until I decided to do more research. The original leander did not sell your account to this company. I admit they have a good scam going.

They called today but not for me, I receive dozens if not more calls to my phone for someone named Stephen Neptune.  I've had this phone number for 5 years but he apparently gives it out for stuff.  Anyway they called once and no one answered but I could hear children in the background.  After I said Hello several times they hung up.  About 5 minutes later they called back and asked for this guy.  I told them I don't know him he's giving out a false number, she started asking if I had any idea what his number was.  I told her no.  She kept insisting.  Well does he live in Kansas city, etc., etc. stuff I have no way of knowing which I informed her, when she heard that she called me a liar and said they would catch him eventually and hung up on me.  I think this is the first time this number has called but these people call me day and night for this guy how do I make them stop?  Especially when they call from a withheld number?

Got a voicemail from "Investigator Kim Mitchell" regarding a case filed against C Nanasy.  She failed to say where she was from (police department? sheriff? local? federal?).  She said I was on the defendant's contact list or some such nonsense. She also said something about Manatee County?  I'm not even near a Manatee County, nor do I know a C Nanasy.  Since the number is an 888 number, I assumed it was a scam.  After googling the number and seeing that others were also being scammed by the same company, I thought I'd call back to see what they said and maybe mess with them - or at least threaten to turn them over to the FTC or state attorney general. The guy that answered the phone just said, "Investigations" rather than Manatee County Investiations... or somewhere specific.  I told him I didn't know the defendent and to take me off the call list.  He said ok and hung up.  I was kinda looking forward to messing with them.

These people left a message for me on my mom's cell phone and she panicked. She thought I was going to prison and everything. I told her if id was a real call the number would be a local number from our sheriff's department not a 1800 number where the person could be anywhere. They got $700 dollars out of me the first time but the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time they received some choice words. SCAM SCAM SCAM

SCAM!!!  SCAM!!! SCAM!!  Very agressive scam.   Someone named Stephanie Grace called my daughters boss, called me, and called my son.  We all got voice mails from someone calling from the local fraud department and that if my daughter didn't pay $600 within the hour they would send someone out to her job and arrest her.  Said they had 3 warrants.  I contacted the local county sheriff and police department and both said it was a scam and do not pay any money.  That first, it's not illegal to owe anyone money.  And second, police do not give warnings.  If you have warrants, they come get you without warning.

This is discusting what they put people through.

Recieved a call from a citizen compaining they recieved a call from the number stating that she owed on a payday loan. The citizen states that she never took a payday loan out and that the subject stated that if she did not pay that she would be arrested. I attempted to talk with someone from the company and they were extremely defensive and would not cooperate . I have recieved other calls about this company and their tactics and I believe that they are operating in the grey area using scare tatics and may be a scam.

I RECEIVED CALL SHE SAID SHE WAS W/ LOCAL SHERRIFFS OFFICE AND IF I DID NOT PAY $200.00 FILING FEE WITHIN AN HOUR I WOULD BE DETAINED. THEY EVEN WENT AS FAR AS LEAVING A MESSAGE ON MY PARENTS PHONE? HOW DID THEY GET MY PARENTS INFO? I HUNG UP. THE SAME LADY CALLED AGAIN FEW HOURS LATER AND WENT AS FAR AS CALLING A  DISPTCH RADIO TELLING WHOEVER WAS ON THE OTHER END THAT SHE WAS LEAVING A  MESSAGE FOR ME NOW AND TO GO AHEAD AND COME TO MY HOME AND ARREST ME!!! AND SHE MADE SURE THAT WAS ON MY VOICEMAIL. CRAZY THE LADY NAME WAS STEPHANIE GRACE. THANKFULLY I HAVE HAD MANY FRAUDULENT CALLS IN THE PAST 2 YEARS SO I KNOW WHEN SOMETHING DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THOSE THAT DO GET SCAMMED INTO PAYING. IT IS SCARY WHEN YOU ARE BEING THREATENED WITH JAIL AND HAVING YOUR CHILDREN TAKEN AWAY. THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO STOP THESE PEOPLE. THEIR TO LAZY TO GO AND GET A REAL JOB SO THEY STEEL FROM US.

caller clained to be with depy of fraud of a local police dept and threatened to have an employee arrested if she did not send $500 within the next 20 minutes.  she contacted the police dept and confirmed that there was no warrent for her arrest.

this is crazy ,my sister received a call asking for me claming to be the sherriff department for a fraud case... I Will get to the bottom of this madness and I'm making a report wih the authhoritiez.. Does anyone knows who are this people.

They accused me of bank fraud in a county that is no where near where I live. I have never taken a loan anywhere, never been late for any payment in my life and have everything paid off in full.
Some scammers have gotten my cell phone with my name attached to it.
This is the second "company"(scammers) that have done this to me on my cell.
BE CAREFUL!

It's NOT Legal ~ It's a SCAM in Every Sense of the word!!!  I contacted my local Sheriff Department and County Court House and was told that this is a Scam and NOT to even talk to them or give them ANY INFORMATION what so ever! They TRY to use threats and scare tactics to get your bank information. DON'T FALL FOR IT. Contact your local police department if they persist and are leaving threatening messages.

I received a call from this number too.Are these people real And Legal? To threaten old people,and demand money on the call?And say OR ELSE? I feel I have had my life threaten on this phone call from 8882252766.What is a person to do? Commit suicide? With out given a chance to understand what is going on?Explain!! How legal is this?

They called our house and left a message saying they were "investigators with the warrant and summons division of  Middlesex County (MA).  They asked to be called back regarding an issue with a bank check fraud charge. Also said we could be summons to court.  When pressed for identifying information after returning their call, they started back-peddaling and hung up.  Stay Away.... Far Away!

This company called and left a voice mail on my phone to contact them within 48 hours or they were going to have me served for an account I have already payed off.  When I finally spoke with someone after talking with the company I had paid the loan off with, this company is telling some nonsence that they are calling on behalf of Chase bank who supposingly gave me the check for the loan, well the funny thing about this is that I never got a check, was given cash, They also mentioned that the company EZ money had a 300+ interest and that this is what I actually paid the other company and that this company knows as Department of Fraud - so they say with an internet address of www.dofinvestigation.com is who know has the case. When I got an associate on the line so that we can do a three way  conversation to confirm this loan is paid off, they kept us on hold for 15 minutes and the funny thing is that George Raffino supposingly a rep with their company answered the phone after just hanging up with me and when the gentleman with the company that I paid this offi in full mentioned my name he said oh, I have to see who that is, keeping in mind he just hung up from speaking with me and my name is not a common name so you would remember talking to me.  People don't fall for this scan

They hung up on me.