CFPB and NY AG Go After Hidden Assets of Now Defunct Debt Collection Scheme

On April 22, 2021, the CFPB announced that it filed a complaint in federal court to seize a $1.6 million home; the ownership of which it alleges was transferred fraudulently by the operator of a massive and now-defunct debt-collection scheme.

In 2019, the CFPB and New York Attorney General reached a settlement with Douglas MacKinnon, Northern Resolution Group, LLC, Enhanced Acquisitions, LLC, Delray Capital, LLC, and Mark Gray. The CFPB had sued Douglas MacKinnon, Mark Gray, and their companies for harassing, threatening, and deceiving millions of consumers across the nation into paying inflated debts or amounts they did not owe. The companies routinely added $200 to each debt they purchased and attempted to collect, used spoofing technology to make it appear as though they were calling from government agencies, and sent threatening messages to consumers to frighten them into paying. MacKinnon and his companies were permanently banned from the debt collection industry and ordered to pay $60 million in consumer redress and penalties.

The new complaint alleges that Douglas MacKinnon transferred ownership of his home to his wife and daughter for the sum of $1 shortly after learning of the federal and state investigation into his companies. It then asks the court to declare the transfer void and order the seizure and sale of the property to partially repay MacKinnon’s outstanding debt to the federal and state governments for his illegal conduct.