800-918-3844

i think they may have -- caller ID=(888)326-3139; call back #=(888)441-4001. Company name=James Spellman, attorney?

Yea, I got a call from a woman last night. Same story: Message is for the attorney of Yvonne Boothe. I am a person of interest wanted for questioning and investigation.

Then in the next breath, as if she is no longer leaving the message for my attorney as she stated above, but now talking to me: Call is before the end of the day today.

btw -- yes, the 918 # is no longer working

Glad to help. Just remember...not debt collector (nor a crook posing as a debt collector) has the authority to have anyone arrested for anything. Their making false threats such as this is part of the reason the Florida attorney general is suing them.

Lotsa names, but the same group of scammers. Evelyn and Frank Jackson have a zillion names they hide behind when scamming their victims -- Bass Prelitigation, States Predisposition, Kirby & Associates and many more. These latest names are phonies and they aren't attorneys; impersonating attorneys is a routine (and illegal) tactic used by this bunch of crooks in Florida.  And that ridiculous, meaningless phrase -- "you are a person of interest" -- is commonly used by these scammers.  Here's a news article about the Florida Attorney General's efforts to put this particular scam out of business:   http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120107/met_221875639.shtml

And it's hardly a shock that the Georgia BBB gives States Predisposition an "Unsatisfactory" rating:  http://www.data.bbb.org/scripts/cgiip.exe/WSe ... ?zid=ZHFkGhIlOj

They give the appearance of operating out of the Georgia, but the crooks behind it are really in Jacksonville, Florida and that's probably where most, if not all, the calls are originating.  Here are the addresses associated with the States Predispostion scam:

States Predisposition
1204 S 2 St
Folkston, GA 31537
(912) 496-7220
(This address is most likely just a mail drop or a phone answering service.)

States PreDisposition
6586 Highway 40 West
Ste B-7 Unit 340
Saint Mary's, GA 31558
1-800-918-3844
(This address is actually a private rented mailbox at a UPS Store location in a shopping center)

States Predisposition
6931 Lillian Road
Jacksonville, FL  32211
(904) 446-9236
(Source: http://yellowpages.superpages.com/listings.js ... edisposition&&S Not surprisingly, this is the same address as the listing for Bass Enterprises: http://yellowpages.superpages.com/listings.js ... &search=Find+It )

I'm not sure if the Lillian Road addresses for States Predisposition and Bass Enterprises in Jacksonville are real offices or just another rented mailbox.

With that background, you may want to report these crooks to federal and state authorities and to the BBB. The more reports authorities receive, the more likely some type of civil or criminal action will be initiated against this scam. This is what happened with Bass Prelitigation, which is the ooze out of which States Predisposition crawled.  Once enough people filed complaints with the Florida attorney general against Bass, he filed a hefty lawsuit against them last summer.

As the old saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease:

1) File a report about this extortion attempt with your local police

2) File a report online with the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov

3) File a report with Sid Barrett, Senior Assistant Georgia Attorney General at sid.barrett@law.state.ga.us or 404-656-3202 (States Predisposition is incorporated in Georgia.)

4) File a report to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum at http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.nsf/contact?Open&Section=Attorney_General and be sure to let them know that it regards the scammers at Bass Pre-Litigation/Jackson Phillips/States Predisposition

5) File a complaint with your state's attorney general. The contact information for each state's attorney general is listed at www.naag.org  Just scroll down to the national map and click on your state.

6) File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission here: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

7) File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau:  https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/complaintlink.aspx

If these vermin call you again, tell them that they're not getting any money from you and that they are now "a person of interest" because you've reported them to law enforcement.  :)

Update:

Don't bother contacting Sid Barret at the Georgia Attorney General's office; he's just referring victims of this scam to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Here's the link to file complaint there:  http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,5426814_39102589,00.html

Update:

Don't bother contacting Sid Barret at the Georgia Attorney General's office; he's just referring victims of this scam to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Here's the link to file complaint there:  http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,5426814_39102589,00.html

Update:

Don't bother contacting Sid Barret at the Georgia Attorney General's office; he's just referring victims of this scam to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Here's the link to file complaint there:  http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,5426814_39102589,00.html

Update:

Don't bother contacting Sid Barret at the Georgia Attorney General's office; he's just referring victims of this scam to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Here's the link to file complaint there:  http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,5426814_39102589,00.html

Update:

Don't bother contacting Sid Barret at the Georgia Attorney General's office; he's just referring victims of this scam to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Here's the link to file complaint there:  http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,5426814_39102589,00.html

Update:

Don't bother contacting Sid Barret at the Georgia Attorney General's office; he's just referring victims of this scam to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Here's the link to file complaint there:  http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,5426814_39102589,00.html

Update:

Don't bother contacting Sid Barret at the Georgia Attorney General's office; he's just referring victims of this scam to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. Here's the link to file complaint there:  http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,5426814_39102589,00.html

I received one today. These people are crazy and I have no idea what they are talking about and since they won't tell me, they can go straight to H-E-L-L-

April 7, 2008: "Attorney General Obtains $1.3 Million Judgment Against Jacksonville Debt Collector"  http://myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsrel ... 5257424005858A6

Bud Hibbs maintains that there's a connection between Ted Ellis Crosby's collection scam and Evelyn and Frank Jackson's Bass Prelitigation/States Predisposition scams (see http://budhibbs.com/debtcollectorpages/ellis_crosby_and_associates.htm)  So it's interesting that reports posted on 800Notes about phone numbers associated with the States Predisposition scam are suddenly few and far between since this April 7 announcement of the $1.3 million judgment against Crosby in Florida.

Coincidence?



Here's the text of the Florida Attorney General's news release:

>>Attorney General Bill McCollum News Release
April 7, 2008

Attorney General Obtains $1.3 Million Judgment Against Jacksonville Debt Collector

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Jacksonville resident and his debt collection agency have been ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution and civil penalties for violations of Florida and Federal collections laws. Ted Ellis Crosby, individually and in his capacity as owner and director of Ellis Crosby & Associates, was found to have engaged in willful violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Business Practices Act and Florida’s Consumer Collections Practices Act. The case was litigated by the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes division.

“This case should put similar operations on notice that the penalties for such deceptive business practices can be very costly,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Florida authorities will not tolerate unscrupulous individuals who victimize our citizens in potentially difficult financial situations.”

The Attorney General’s lawsuit, filed in June August 2005, alleged that Crosby and his company used deceptive practices in an attempt to scare, harass and intimidate debtors into paying amounts far in excess of their debts. Testimony from victims and witnesses revealed that Crosby and company used tactics such as posing as law enforcement officers, threatening seizure of property, and even threatening bodily harm. More than 380 victims filed complaints with the Attorney General’s office.

Duval Circuit Court Judge L. Haldane Taylor ordered Crosby and his company to pay $388,000 in consumer restitution, $700,000 in fines for violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Business Practices Act, and $253,000 in fees and costs, totaling more than $1.3 million. The Judge also entered a permanent injunction which prohibits Crosby and his company from engaging in any activity within the State of Florida which is related in any way to the ownership, processing, administration or collection of consumer debts.

More information about protecting yourself from improper debt collection tactics is available online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/main/7cd1 ... d6!OpenDocument

A copy of the judgment against Crosby is available online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/KGR ... sbyJudgment.pdf. <<

The Florida Attorney General also maintains that Bass Prelitigation (which is the same group of crooks behind States Predisposition) is just one of many fronts used by Ted Ellis Crosby's debt collection scam. Here's an excerpt from a Florida Times-Union article last year:

"But the state's lawsuit against Ellis Crosby & Associates does contend a link between Ted Ellis Crosby and Bass Prelitigation, the latest subject of an investigation. In a motion filed in November, the state contended Crosby was involved in debt collection by using 'aliases, fronts of strawman operations such as Bass Prelitigation.' Broward County resident Joanna Cook made a similar allegation in a lawsuit she filed in February against Bass Prelitigation. Cook contended former employees of Ellis Crosby & Associates formed Bass Prelitigation last year and worked with Ted Ellis Crosby to develop a business plan for the company. Her lawsuit contends Bass Prelitigation was organized to sidestep the attorney general's lawsuit against Ellis Crosby. Cook's lawsuit said an employee of Bass Prelitigation called and said she faced immediate arrest if she didn't pay $999 that same day by MoneyGram for a payday loan. She said she became frantic because she feared being separated from her two children, including a newborn. David Jacobs, office manager for Bass Prelitigation, declined to comment on the specific allegations and the attorney general's legal filings. But he said Bass Prelitigation does not threaten consumers with arrest or have any association with Ted Ellis Crosby.  'I will tell you, categorically, we have no connection with him whatsoever,' Jacobs said. He said Ellis Crosby & Associates put a 'horrible stigma' on debt collectors and 'is an example of what not to do.' He said Bass Prelitigation will be installing a telephone recording system so it will have records of what employees say in their calls.  Ellis Crosby & Associates was founded in 2003, four years after Ted Ellis Crosby was court-martialed by the Navy in Jacksonville, according to court documents."  [Source: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061107/met_176207561.shtml]

Something tells me that Bass Prelitigation/States Predisposition never got around to installing that telephone recording device.

It's certainly starting look like the directors of Bass Prelitigation/States Predisposition -- Evelyn & Frank Jackson -- are just Ted Ellis Crosby's stooges.  Perhaps the Jacksons have scrammed and grown quiet for now, but until the state of Florida obtains a similar judgment against them and Bass Prelitigation/States Predisposition, you can bet that these cockroaches will regroup and eventually resume their debt collection scams.

way back in January I had a threatening call from these people - I was stupid enough to pay them because of their threats but I have also put in a dispute with my bank on the charges, cancelled my card and reported these crooks to every agency possible - funny thing though - I have sent
e-mails almost weekly since January 2nd to Evelyn Jackson requesting documentation from the original creditor - here's her latest response ...

From: EVELYN JACKSON [mailto:statespredisposition@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 11:52 AM
To: JR
Subject: RE: FTR Processing file 127950 -

No mam it is a process

--- On Fri, 4/18/08, JR wrote:

From: JR>
Subject: RE: FTR Processing file 127950 -
To: statespredisposition@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, April 18, 2008, 9:30 AM

any sign of the "documenation" I requested months ago?

Well - January 2nd is when I started the e-mails to her and here it is April 22nd and still no documentation - no surprise - anyway just for kicks I decided to call the telephone number 800-918-3844 and it's no longer a working number - wonder where they have run off to now - I just hope I get my money back - I was told it is in Visa's hands now and can take up to 120 days - so anyone out there that gets a call from these crooks don't be as stupid as I was!

You weren't being stupid. The fact is, you are the victim of a crime.

Good job staying on top of them and not letting them get away with it! Hopefully, you'll get something back. (By the way, save those emails with full headers so law enforcement can identify the originating IP number.)

Read my messages above from April 20 and 21; this may be why the phone number is disconnected and why we've seen so few reports posted here lately about these crooks. Evelyn and her flying monkey minions may have returned to the sewer to await Ted Ellis Crosby's new marching orders.

You can bet that someday soon, another sham company will be incorporated and the Crosby-Jackson grifters will resume their attempts to defraud consumers. And the best way to stop them is to do what you have done, jr -- relentlessly expose their scam by informing our fellow consumers.

Good luck!

its not against the law to call someone at work. if the person says stop calling work then the calls to work have to stop.

actually when I called the 800-918-3844 number the recording said "the number you called is unavailable from your calling area" - just so happens I'm in Florida - wonder if this is the confirmation that there is indeed a relationship between Ted Ellis Crosby/Ellis Crosby & Associates since the lawsuit against them states: "The Judge also entered a permanent injunction which prohibits Crosby and his company from engaging in any activity within the State of Florida which is related in any way to the ownership, processing, administration or collection of consumer debts."

I'd be curious to know if anyone outside of Florida can get through to this number ....

Its great to see that they are at least knocked out for a little while...

Its people like us who dont take the lies for what they are that lead companies like these to get their just rewards!

Hopefully when they do re-group...that people will begin again with the complaints!

CB

I can tell you that they are still at it. I just received a call from Kathryn at States Pre-desposition Service last week, saying myself of my attorney needs to call her ASAP and that I was a person of interest.