Scam Collection Agency Still on Hook for $10 Million if Anyone Can Find Them

Back in August of 2011, we introduced you to Diana Mey, proprietor of www.dianamey.com. She had successfully sued a fraudulent sham collection agency, Reliant Financial Associates, which had been found guilty of alleged abusive collection tactics and violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

According to Mey, her first contact with Reliant Financial involved a voicemail message suggesting that her house was in jeopardy if she didn’t pay a debt. After a cease-and-desist letter from Mey (Mey alleges that the debt is not hers and that she was contacted erroneously), Mey began receiving hang-up calls. Once she eventually talked to someone allegedly from Reliant Financial, she was repeatedly called vulgar names and threatened with sexual violence.

These actions in no way describe the practices of typical, law-abiding, legitimate collection agencies.

The judgment Mey won? Ten million dollars. The problem? Reliant Financial Associates doesn’t really exist in any tangible way. Nor does Global AG LLC — a company reportedly synonymous with Reliant Financial Associates. As we wrote back in August:

“No one has a handle on where this scam collection agency is. It might be a company named Global AG LLC; at any rate, an attorney representing an entity called Global AG LLC responded to the initial lawsuit by asking for an extension. However, that’s the entirety of the involvement of Global AG LLC.”

As a story on ABCNews.com and other sources is reporting: Mey is still waiting for her $10 million dollars. And it’s likely she’ll be waiting for the foreseeable future. “I don’t know that I’ll ever collect a dime,” Mey told ABC News, “but if I can get their operation shut down, that would make me very happy.”

And, since no one can actually find the companies, it seems like Mey can consider that item struck from her to-do list.

The TV show Nightline was able to reach a lawyer for Reliant Financial Associates. Nightline characterized Reliant this way: “RFA is actually a fictitious business name for a company called Global AG, LLC. Records show it is just one of several collection companies run by the same people that often change names and move.”

Nightline reports that RFA’s lawyer gave them this statement: “My clients say it is not their policy to engage in conduct that violates the law.”