A federal court Thursday was asked to declare as void the 2015 transfer by a former debt collection firm operator of a $1.6 million home to family members and to order the seizure and sale of the property to partially repay the $60 million in consumer redress and penalties ordered under a 2019 settlement, according to an announcement.
In 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and New York Attorney General reached a settlement with Douglas MacKinnon, Northern Resolution Group, LLC, Enhanced Acquisitions, LLC, Delray Capital, LLC, and Mark Gray. The CFPB said it had sued MacKinnon and Gray and their companies for harassing, threatening, and deceiving millions of consumers across the nation into paying inflated debts or amounts they did not owe.
The CFPB noted that these companies routinely added $200 to each debt they purchased and attempted to collect, used spoofing technology to make it appear as though they were calling from government agencies, and sent threatening messages to consumers to frighten them into paying.
It said MacKinnon and his companies were permanently banned from the debt collection industry and ordered to pay $60 million in consumer redress and penalties.
“Despite the court’s order, MacKinnon has not made any payments toward satisfying the judgment against him, and neither he nor his family members have cooperated in the Bureau’s and New York’s efforts to obtain relevant financial information,” the bureau said.
Thursday’s complaint alleges that McKinnon transferred his interest in the home when he knew he was under investigation to his wife, Amy MacKinnon, and daughter, Mary-Kate MacKinnon, for the sum of $1 by quitclaim deed dated April 22, 2015.
“Douglas MacKinnon’s conveyance of the Property for one dollar to his wife and daughter was made with the intent to hinder, delay, and defraud present and future creditors, including the Government Plaintiffs,” it states.
RR: Settlement proposes $60 million in penalties for debt collectors, with banishment from industry (July 25, 2019)