My wife and I have accrued a considerable amount of debt, as a result of a series of unfortunate life-altering events. In response to our combined financial decimation, my wife and I have hired counsel to represent us through debt negotiations with our creditors in order to responsibly settle our fiduciary obligations. In this already ego-bruising process and emotionally crippling process, it appears we are the victims of a severe and far-reaching 'Pay-Day Loan' scam by unscrupulous individuals. Over the past three weeks all weekdays and Saturdays multiple hours during the day and after 9:00pm from Monday, January 30, 2010 until February 20, 2012, a common friend of ours? has been receiving calls from a male with an African-American speech inflection threatening an affidavit has been filed against my wife for writing bad checks and owing a 'Pay-Day' loan. The male refused to identify himself during his 20+ threatening and intimidating calls, only providing an account number and phone number (305-914-6728). My wife returned the phone call on February 17, 2012 during the afternoon to this unnamed individual in order to end the harassment to our friend, a third-party with no affiliation to any of these matters. The receiver of the call told my wife he represents WOOD FOREST (WOOD FOREST is a fictitious name), refused to give his name, told my wife he was dispatching the police to our house, said to my wife that its her 'a** is in a sling, lady!', demanded a payment of $900.00 over the phone, refused to provide an address and refused to send any documents via post to our address yet offered to email the information, before refusing to take the information and hanging-up on my wife. We remained in fear my wife was going to jail for fraudulent allegations. Fortunately, that never transpired. I began researching these individuals via the internet and calling the provided phone number during non-business hours. The answering service associated with the aforementioned phone number is associated with AMY GRANT, INVESTIGATIONS DEPARTMENT, SOUTH FLORIDA GROUP. Other associated numbers include: 305-964-9434 and 305-918-4670 and 786-528-0314. According to internet searches revealing the illegal, unethical and deleterious practices of this company, it appears other individuals associated with South Florida Group are: MICHAEL SHAW, BRIAN MERCER, CATHERINE STREIN, SAMANTHA TAYLOR, THOMAS PIERCE and JOHN MONTGOMERY, all of whom reportedly employed the same tactics with other citizens to extort monies either illegally or in direct violation of the FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT. Other additional phone numbers include: (866) 629-9947, (888) 472-6781, (888) 313-9572, Through further research, it appears South Florida Group is an affiliation of BRONSTEIN, SHAW & ASSOCIATES (888) 701-0360, aka JENKINS, SHAW & ASSOCIATES (877) 863-5647, aka BRONSTEIN, SHAW & ASSOCIATES, INC., 814 KENMORE AVENUE, BUFFALO NY 14216. The individuals appearing to be affiliated with these 'law groups' are: MR. JONES (877) 863-5647 x493, fax (716) 691-3939 and MR. MYERS (888) 701-0360 x475, fax (716) 873-2700, RENEE WILLIAMS (888) 701-0360 x473 and MR. STONE (716) 533-1569. It appears JOSEPH STONE aka JOSEPH MARLETTE (716) 533-1569 is the owner/CEO. From research, it appears Mr. Stone (aka Marlette), also, owns and runs collection agency: ICS (INTERSTATE CHECK SYSTEMS, INC., 15 HAZELWOOD DRIVE, #102, AMHERST NY 14226, (888) 358-1120, (888) 832-9845, (877) 230-2988, (716) 691-2472 and fax (716) 691-2440.) Reportedly, it appears ICS employees (RAY PADILLA, SHAWN MICHAELS and JIM DOUGLASS x335)utilize the same illegal collection tactics, and litigation and arrests alleging fraud in the State of New York exists regarding affiliates and constituents of ICS (according to some reports, this agency has been shut-down by governmental interventions.) It appears Interstate Check Systems is an entity of Northtown Capital & Associates. Northtown's web site is: http://www.northtowncap.com. Northtown's address and location is (same as Interstate Check Systems): 15 Hazelwood Drive, Suite 102, Amherst, NY 14228 - Phone: 888.358.1120 - Fax: 716.691.2122 Corporate filings found at: http://appsext8.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/corpsearch.entity_search_entry Selected Entity Status Information Current Entity Name: INTERSTATE CHECK SYSTEMS INC. Initial DOS Filing Date: NOVEMBER 16, 2009 County: NIAGARA Jurisdiction: NEW YORK Entity Type: DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION Current Entity Status: ACTIVE Selected Entity Address Information DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity) INTERSTATE CHECK SYSTEMS INC. 3047 MAPLE ROAD NEWFANE, NEW YORK, 14108 Registered Agent SPIEGEL & UTRERA PA PC 1 MAIDEN LANE 5TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10038 Current Entity Name: NORTHTOWN CAPITAL & ASSOCIATES INC. Initial DOS Filing Date: OCTOBER 23, 2009 County: ERIE Jurisdiction: NEW YORK Entity Type: DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION Current Entity Status: ACTIVE Selected Entity Address Information DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity) NORTHTOWN CAPITAL & ASSOCIATES INC. 1 MAIDEN LANE 5TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10038 Registered Agent SPIEGEL & UTRERA P.A. P.C. 1 MAIDEN LANE 5TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10038 Additional Corporate filings show: Selected Entity Status Information Current Entity Name: BRONSTEIN, SHAW & ASSOCIATES, INC. Initial DOS Filing Date: FEBRUARY 28, 2011 County: ERIE Jurisdiction: NEW YORK Entity Type: DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION Current Entity Status: ACTIVE Selected Entity Address Information DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity) BRONSTEIN, SHAW AND ASSOCIATES, INC. 814 KENMORE AVENUE BUFFALO, NEW YORK, 14216 Registered Agent SPIEGEL & UTRERA PA PC 1 MAIDEN LANE 5TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10038 This scam, perpetrated by these entities, is far-reaching and preys on those, such as my wife and I, who are attempting to find stable-footing, again, in life through responsible and reputable means. All of the aforementioned individuals and entities are, reportedly and experientially, are violating laws, complicit involvement in illegal scams, willfully and knowingly, thereby harming and injuring unsuspecting and innocent victims, such as my wife and I, by their intentional acts, aiding and abetting extortion through fraudulent practices and are in direct violation of the FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT.

Who is this?

got a call from that number for the past two days. dudes name was john adler (an ex football players name-mind you)  he said theyre from interstate check systems and that they are collecting on an outstanding unpaid payday loan i had with check n'go.  i researched it and found that theyre connected with northtown capital & associates.  i do remember receiveing correspondence from them so i figured them to be legit.

if you have an outstanding balance with any payday lenders and get a call-as much as you read about scammers, id take the time to talk to them...you might just get served papers to garnish your wages.

Only thing that this collection agency is forgetting they do not have a valid signature on a check and also in the state of Indiana if you default on a payday loan they are not allowed to sue you or garnish your wages because it was a loan without a credit check and knew you were not credit worthy.

they can not garnish any wage with out a court order. nor are they allowed under the fair debt collections act to threaten  you or tell you what any outcome will be if you do not pay this debt. They are not the law! read your Consumers fair debt collection act.

He's probably sucking your mother's dick if you must know!

whos f****n dick you suck n****....who nwould waste there time write a whole bunnch of bull s*** over not wanting to pay there bills...just pay ur bills

Franklin Greenway called to say someone who worked here before has an internet wire fraud case on them.  Gave call back number and case number... When I googled the number I found out it was a fraud.  They will use every trick in the book.

Am fairly certain it takes a court to order wage garnishment. Even the state would have to go through a court to garnish. You just can't garnish wages based on a phone call from a stranger. Am surprised you fell for this.

I am located in Arizona and received a call from these scumbags. After researching the number and these posts, I decided to do some more research and came up with this:

Interstate Check Systems is an entity of Northtown Capital & Associates. Northtown's web site is:

http://www.northtowncap.com.

Northtown's address and location is (same as Interstate Check Systems):
15 Hazelwood Drive, Suite 102, Amherst, NY 14228 - Phone: 888.358.1120 - Fax: 716.691.2122

Here are the corporate filings found at: http://appsext8.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/corpsearch.entity_search_entry

Selected Entity Status Information Current Entity Name: INTERSTATE CHECK SYSTEMS INC.
Initial DOS Filing Date: NOVEMBER 16, 2009
County: NIAGARA
Jurisdiction: NEW YORK
Entity Type: DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
Current Entity Status: ACTIVE  

Selected Entity Address Information DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity)
INTERSTATE CHECK SYSTEMS INC.
3047 MAPLE ROAD
NEWFANE, NEW YORK, 14108  
Registered Agent
SPIEGEL & UTRERA PA PC
1 MAIDEN LANE 5TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10038  


Current Entity Name: NORTHTOWN CAPITAL & ASSOCIATES INC.
Initial DOS Filing Date: OCTOBER 23, 2009
County: ERIE
Jurisdiction: NEW YORK
Entity Type: DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
Current Entity Status: ACTIVE  

Selected Entity Address Information DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity)
NORTHTOWN CAPITAL & ASSOCIATES INC.
1 MAIDEN LANE 5TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10038  
Registered Agent
SPIEGEL & UTRERA P.A. P.C.
1 MAIDEN LANE 5TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10038

Don't let the DOS mailing address in NYC fool you as corporations can have correspondence go through their attorney.

Here is where it gets real interesting though. I decided to research the owner's name given above, Jason Jackubec. He appears to have been a player in various buffalo collection agencies, all of which seem to break every law out there for consumer protection.

I decided to search "jason jackubec ny" on Google. It corrected me, apparently the proper spelling is "Jason Jakubec". One reference comes back to another buffalo collection agency, there is also one from classmates.com and FaceBook. Classmates says jason is a 2000 graduate from Wilson High School in Wilson, NY. Being sure to have the right person, I looked up where Wilson is located. North of Buffalo about 30 miles. Just a small town it looks like... but get this, guess what town is right next door? Newfane, NY... sound familiar? See the corporate filing above for Interstate.

Ok so now we have the right guy... but what is this maple road address? I did a google maps/street view search of the address. Comes back to a ritzy looking house, that's right a house... a private residence. So off we go, who's house is this? Started to dig a little more. Second link on google at www.ypsort.com/main/ny/newfane/ shows a name and phone number for that address:

Elia Richard A
3047 Maple Rd
Maple newfane 14108
716-751-9252

Wait a minute... who is Richard Elia? Second page on google says he is the Executive VP of Sevenson Environmental Services in Niagara Falls. Well the location of his company makes sense, the location of his house definitely makes sense. But how and why is he tied to a collection agency. Time to dig deeper yet again!

Remember that facebook search that came back on google?  Well for being such a big shot, he isn't big on privacy! Clear as day, right out there is all his info! His profile is wide open! Oh, and his profile does confirm all that information, plus it gives his cell phone number, personal email, and his birthday in case you want to wish him a happy one! Back to Elia though...

I decided to check out his friends. He has 249, so start scrolling through the list! Page 3, first hit, jessica elia. Page 5 rachel elia. No richard elia though. Well I have facebook, let's search for elia's in wilson high school... nothing. But we definitely have Jason linked to the Elia family. So back to google we go.

I'll start with some common sense. Jason is class of 2000 so let's focus on his class. Going back to google searching for wilson high school alumni, I come across a new site, mylife.com. Enter the name Richard Elia and Newfane and let it ride. Well, it happens to bring up other people related to the same address as Richard Elia along with his age (56). It shows a Karin and a Joseph H Elia. Time to start making assumptions. Richard Elia must be a father! Remember, Jason is in his mid 20's as facebook shared. So let's find out who this Joseph Elia is... maybe he is our guy. Same site, just change the first name to Joseph. Guess what, comes back to a 26 year old matched up with Richard. I can't get any more info without registering but I have a name.

Joseph H Elia - let's google it. Not finding much on him, all i see is a Joseph Elia from Newfane winning some money at the Niagara Falls casino in a poker tournament. That would make sense, degenerates to tend to fall into collections. Well I'm at a loss nothing. Back to square one.

So as a final result, I decided to search "northtown capital joe elia". You're not going to believe this one. 1st result on google, guess what I find: Elia, Joe, Northtown Capital & Associates. Jakubec, Jason, Northtown Capital @ Associates - DBA Conference attendees. There it is clear as day! DBA - Debt Buyers Association. It is apparently a conference where these agencies go to buy and sell debt. A meet and greet of the scum of the earth!

So here are your owners! Jason Jakubec and Joe Elia... do some searches... actually, if you want to have fun, get Jason's cell phone number from his facebook page and start harassing him like he has been harassing us! Oh, and don't forget... file complaints with the Attorney General in both your state and in New York. New York's attorney general is not messing around anymore when it comes to collection agencies who break all the rules! I'll keep digging into this and update if I find out anymore information.

I am the HR Director for an organization in Pennsylvania.  I received a call from this number.  I spoke to an individual whose name I will keep in confidence.  The caller indicated that they were calling regarding a garnishment that I needed to make on an employee.  When I asked what type of garnishment...meaning were they from the state or federal government (because you cannot garnish wages in the state of PA) they indicated that they were from the State.  I asked the employee to give the number of call since I was working on payroll and if the caller could correct before payroll run...I would allow them to do so.  I set the employee up in a private room.  She called and was told that it was not the State.  She didn't know who they were. I was really upset that I was lied to and took this employee from their work environment to respond to the call.  I called the company at this number and I told them that I would be pursuing.  I was yelled at.  Unbelievable.

These people work for a company called ICS...Interstate Check Systems, among many other companies. They have several different names. They are all scammers. They claimed I took out a payday loan through a company called Discount Advantage. They said I was going to be charged with wire fraud if I didn't pay them back in full. At first I panicked, but then did a little research. I called Discount Advantage and they said they never sent me any money, but told me to call the Credit protection Depot, which is another scam company. Don't  pay anybody anything!!! I did that mistake back in March. I paid 570 dollars to a place that claimed to be the Law firm of Mark Carey. I called them to verify that I paid off my debt. All their numbers are disconnected. The only proof I have is from my bank statement. I have a victim of a scam. Contact the attourney general's office immediatly if you hear from any of these people. Who knows what they have done with my information, and how they got my new cell phone number and my dad's work number is beyond me!!!

Did your daughter ever take out the loan through the internet?

Telling me they had a summons for my daughter who took out an internet loan and made 4 payments thru bank withdrawl, then closed out that account and wrote a bad check, So they are going to prosecute her for breach of ontract, passing a bad check and fraud. this is all a lie and she has been harassed for over a year with calls at work 20 calls in 10 minutes and one call telling the person answering the phone that it was an emergency about her mom and another that said he was the sheriff and was coming to arrest her. Even a phone call to her best friend that said he was arresting her and then they were going to arrest my daughter. All has been turned into the police department and secretary of state. They know her place of employment, SS NO. all of her phone numbers Bank account numbers etc.