281-205-8873

received a call from Ashley who said she was from the Department of Investigation and it was an emergency.  Asked her what law firm she was from and she said she could not discuss it with me and she was actually a paralegal and it could be anything from being arrested to someone else using my identification.  This was Harris Country Texas but would be settled in my county.  Hung up.

I just had an awful experience with some 'Department of Investigations' (So they call themselves). A woman named Ashley Adams left a threatening voicemail on my phone stating they would have to take legal action against me if the matter weren't resolved. When I returned the phone call she was very rude and unprofessional and would not tell me who she was calling in behalf of when I asked her several times. She then proceeded to transfer the call over to an 'investigator'. He too was very unprofessional and rude! They claimed that I have made fraudulent transactions with wiring money through an account that has been closed over 7yrs ago. It seems to me that they are nothing more than some low down collections agency trying to get money out of ppl. This number is from Houston Texas but they claim that they were located in north carolina.

Recd a call from Ashley Adams saying if I didn't call or have my attorney call they would take legal action.  From notes above it appears this is just another scammer trying to get money.

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),  Atlanta GA (often a parking lot near the bus station or a Peachtree Road Address) or Phoenix AZ.  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”.  They often call people with a recording claiming they are looking for a "defendant"

Kaplan and Associates
Collins and Stern
Schuman, Walker, & Associates
Kaplan, Stein, & Associates
KS & Associates
Lyman & Turner
Burns & Stevens
HD & Associates
Richardson Simms and Associates
Johnston & Moore
Holland, Dempsey, and Associates
Hughes and Berkeley
RJ Financial LLC
Ondrick and Miles
Anderson & Banker Mediation or Pre-Trial Litigators
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
Vaughn & Associates
Bailey Rowe and Associates
Berkley Hughes and Associates


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

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-748-8367
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-719-1725
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-676-3492
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-805-5549
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-751-1084
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-803-2349
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-775-2417
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-775-2418
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-755-3417
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-746-3946
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-676-3485
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-3768
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-699-9749/2
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-6246
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-678-5437
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-967-0061
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-746-3948
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-791-2353
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-699-6246
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-735-8624
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-751-1083
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-736-3678/2
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-8529
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-967-2633
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-460-1576
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-609-3074
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-576-6210
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-601-5849
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-230-1283
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-658-0438
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-510-9327
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-509-0338
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-803-0755
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-511-0627
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-509-3033
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-509-0339
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-511-0631
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-883-2350/2
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-244-3381
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-0269
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-295-9550
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-966-6277
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-511-4248
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-725-5312
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-756-9997
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-1278
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-0531
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-0273
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-719-5041
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-791-9102
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-512-400-2637
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-585-730-6153
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-512-1712
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-657-1430
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-643-7815
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-860-3119
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-860-2973
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-831-4161
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-316-3547
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-714-134-4576
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-948-4460
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-415-1851
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-678-389-6196
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-584-6184
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-210-239-1791
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-844-245-7180
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-415-1287
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-440-210-9666/2
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-455-6485
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-425-201-0376
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-393-3515
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-406-272-8763
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-393-0743
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-408-9651
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-254-0813
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-727-260-5017
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-330-849-2731
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-480-270-8627
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-393-4321
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-706-913-1607
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-815-221-4220
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-206-858-9167
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-929-4493
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-855-230-3803
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-526-3182
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-408-9654
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-760-314-6294
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-994-3546
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-972-317-9700
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-210-625-5450
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-410-220-0297
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-307-224-6087
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-712-202-5902
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-602-753-1237
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-608-299-7037
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-937-347-8006
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-513-245-8774
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-702-359-9772
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-253-275-4704
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-213-375-0458
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-901-3228
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-801-203-4116
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-817-357-4061
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-272-7957
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-602-753-1252
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-417-208-3146