Scammer who scammed debt collectors arrested

He bought debts and then resold them for more than they were worth.
From:
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/man-accus ... ied-bond/ngKF5/

Posted: 12:01 p.m. Thursday, June 12, 2014

Man accused of stealing $76M in debt scam denied bond

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —

A Seminole County man accused of stealing $76 million was denied bond Thursday.

Leonard Patillo's defense team tried to persuade a judge that he was not a flight risk.

On Monday, federal agents raided several companies in Seminole County that investigators said Patillo used to scam third party debt purchasers.

Dozens of people showed up to support Patillo.

Roughly 30 family and friends filled the courtroom.

Patillo's parents also showed up. His mom cried in the courtroom when her son was denied bond.

Prosecutors painted Patillo as a fraud mastermind who had homes and money all over the world.

WFTV found out Patillo's girlfriend had a house in Scotland.

Government officials believe he gave her hundreds of thousands of dollars during the last few years.

Patillo is accused of buying debt and selling it for more money than it was worth.

Riiiight...he's not a flight risk (note MAJOR sarcasm)

"Patillo is accused of buying debt and selling it for more money than it was worth." - How is someone so vulnerable to buying debt for more than what the debt balance is? A hope they default and collect on interest?

Only thing I can think of is he was forging the debt documents to change the amount shown owed to higher than what it truly was.
As a possible example, say he bought a $500 debt for a percentage of that value, changed it to read $500,000, and then sold it for a percentage of that forged value.

The name was familiar, but the spelling is wrong. Potillo and his United Credit Recovery thugs were sued several months ago by the Colorado and Minnesota AGs for collecting on bank overdraft debts through robo-perjury. Faking his way to a fast dollar is nothing new, only the avenue. His momma *should* be crying.


Attorney General Lori Swanson Sues Florida Company for Creating Manufactured Affidavits to Aid In Collection of Overdraft Debt Purchased from Large Banks
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/PressRelea ... dAffidavits.asp

Minnesota AG sues Florida debt buyer over fake affidavits
http://www.startribune.com/business/229901441.html?page=all&prepage=1

Colorado Attorney General sues debt collection companies
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_2469521 ... ction-companies

Debt Firms Used Forged Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank Docs: Colo. A.G.
http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_236/ ... -1064177-1.html

Yes, I could see that fudging as one answer. We should ask what "worth" means .... Face value of a portfolio or the "street" value to other junk debt buyers?

Here's the Orlando Sentinel article on the case, much more complete and accurate.  

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-06-0 ... illo-wire-fraud

I had forgotten my own threads on the AG busts ....

Who Needs Proof When We Can Robo-Paste? Dirty Debt Buyer Sued By Minnesota AG
https://800notes.com/forum/ta-8c3f4737a389fba ... by-minnesota-ag

Who Needs Proof When We Can Robo-Paste, Part II: Dirty Debt Buyer Angers Another State AG
https://800notes.com/forum/ta-903f0a68dda5ab9 ... nother-state-ag

Ah yes, much better. This makes another chapter in the same fraudulent handling of that bank account debt.

so the sleaze ripped off other sleazy debt-collectors.  buying 20 year old debts for pennies on the dollar, inflating the figures, and selling them to other greedy sleazy bill collectors for pennies on the dollar.  does this mean he was just ripping off a bunch of people who specialize in ripping off people?

Thanks :)
WFTV has been ripe with typos lately :(

Not all debt collectors are sleaze balls, a lot are but not all.

Potillo is no Robin Hood by any stretch.

Yes, it also made mention of World Recovery Service http://www.bbb.org/central-florida/business-r ... ary-fl-90135977 as part of the investigation.

The issue is not that simple. When you look at the AG beatdowns of UCR, they're most concerned with the perjury aspect. Potillo's crew used everything but cut paper and crayons to manufacture "proof" that debts were valid, and now we know that a US Bank official was on the take. Part of the point all along was to inflate the apparent value of their junk debt piles.

Subsequent debt buyers either did not know or care that the supporting documents were so fatally defective. How they behave when collecting on those accounts is a separate issue from the fact that they were overcharged for toxic assets. We've seen pretty much the same catfights among the major banks when one of them wraps their garbage in a silk ribbon and hikes the asking price. Even if you can paint a picture of one lawbreaker fooling another, the conduct remains illegal and still puts those few honest collectors at a disadvantage.

Hard to believe, but it's apparently true that he scammed third-party debt collectors  and they are actually victims in this case, real Twilight Zone stuff.   That said, from the articles it looks like this bum is up for DECADES in prison if found guilty only just some of the counts.   We really need this.   These scammers have been getting away with their schemes with little more than slaps on the wrist for much too long.   A thirty-year federal stretch for one of these crooks  might  sober up the rest of the debt predators.

Old Russian story:
An American police officer was working as an exchange officer with Soviet police in Moscow years ago.   While on patrol, the American and his Soviet partner spotted a thief and started to pursue him.   Having him cornered, the Soviet policeman pulled his pistol and shot the felon square in the back and then shouted, "stop or 'Ill shoot."    The American cop, shocked, asked "why did you shoot him?"  The Russian said that it had just been a warning shot.  "A, warning shot? you killed him!"  replied the American.   The Russian answered, "You don't understand, in Russia, warning shots are for the next guy."

The third-party debt industry needs a few warning shots.