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Defendants in Debt Collection Scheme Aimed At
Hispanics Agree to Settle FTC Charges
Two defendants have agreed to settle Federal
Trade Commission charges for allegedly victimizing
Spanish-speaking consumers nationwide by posing
as debt collectors seeking money the consumers did
not owe. They and the corporate defendants they
controlled have been barred from further violations
of federal law involving debt collection.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Maria Oceguera,
her daughter Dulce Rickards (aka Dulce Ugalde and
Dulce Ruiz), and others sold an English-language
course, “Inglés con Ritmo.” They advertised the
course as free except for a shipping and handling
fee. Several years after the defendants stopped
selling the course, they tried to collect money,
typically $900, from consumers who had purchased
or inquired about the course. An overwhelming majority
of the consumers who were contacted owed nothing,
and yet the defendants routinely engaged in a variety
of deceptive debt collection practices. At the FTC’s
request, in 2007 a federal judge stopped the operation
and froze the defendants’ assets.
Under the settlement, the defendants are barred
from violating the FTC Act by misrepresenting that
they’re collecting on a valid debt, that they’re
attorneys or represent attorneys, that they will
take action they cannot take legally or do not intend
to take, and that nonpayment of an alleged obligation
will result in arrest, imprisonment, or loss of
property or wages. The settlement prohibits the
defendants from misrepresenting the consequences
of paying or not paying a debt, making misrepresentations
in order to collect a debt, and misrepresenting
or omitting any fact material to a person’s decision
to buy or use a product or service.
The defendants are banned from violating the Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by using falsehood
or deception to collect a debt, indicating that
they’re attorneys or represent attorneys, and representing
that nonpayment will result in arrest, imprisonment,
or loss of property or wages unless the action is
lawful and they intend to pursue such action. They
are also prohibited from threatening to take an
action unless it’s lawful and they intend to do
so, and from using a business name other than the
collector’s real name.
Oceguera and Rickards are also barred from violating
the FDCPA by collecting an amount not expressly
authorized by the agreement creating the debt or
permitted by law;harassing consumers, including
causing a telephone to ring or conversing with consumers
to annoy or abuse them; and failing to notify consumers
of their right to dispute and obtain verification
of their debts and to obtain the name of the original
creditor.
In addition, the court ordered the same permanent
injunctive relief against the companies controlled
by Oceguera and Rickards: Tono Publishing; Promo
Music; and Tono Records, dba Tono Music; and Professional
Legal Services.
The settlement with Oceguera and Rickards includes
a $1,186,754 judgment, all but $50,934 of which
is suspended based on their inability to pay. The
full judgment will be imposed if they are found
to have misrepresented their financial condition.
The settlement also contains standard record-keeping
provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance
with the order.
By a 4-0 vote, the Commission approved the filing
of the consent decree in the U.S. District Court
for the Central District of California. On May 1,
the court approved the FTC’s settlement with Oceguera
and Rickards. On May 27, the court entered a separate
final judgment and order for permanent injunction
against the corporate defendants. |
