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Denver-based debt collector to return $475K to Washington consumers

Cash money generic dollars
Posted at 7:25 AM, Jun 09, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-09 09:25:39-04

SEATTLE (AP) — A Denver-based collection agency must return about $475,000 it collected improperly from up to 5,000 Washington consumers after state Attorney General Bob Ferguson prevailed in a lawsuit alleging unlawful debt-collection practices.

The Seattle Times reports Ferguson's office says Machol & Johannes must also forgive as much as $250,000 in fees and costs for hundreds of people, and pay $414,000 to the attorney general’s office to cover the costs of the investigation.

Ferguson filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court in 2020 after a judge notified his office that the company had filed improper wage-garnishment applications.

Machol & Johannes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.