By JANET DIGERONIMO & JENNIFER KUFA
Manhattan Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara announced on Tuesday the indictment of the owner and three employees of a Brooklyn credit consolidation company of wire and mail fraud by which they allegedly bilked clients of millions of dollars in fees
“The true mission of the Mission Settlement Agency turned out to be fraud and deceit,” said Bharara at a news conference.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated that over $6.6 million were collected by the agency by allegedly charging over 1,200 customers bogus monthly fees in exchange for credit and debt consolidation. air jordan 1 When customers were still hearing from debt collectors after paying for a service that was supposed to stop the calls, the CFPB decided to investigate
Company owner Michael Levitis and employees Denis Kurlyand, Boris Shulman, and Manuel Cruz were charged in the indictment. Two other employees, Zakhir Shirinoz and Felix Lemberskiy, also were charged separately and have already pleaded guilty.
Bharara said that the company’s debt-ridden customers’ money was used for leasing two Mercedez Benzes, buying two domestic properties in Manhattan Beach at 1001 Oriental Boulevard and 132 Norfolk Street, starting another business as Rasputin Restaurant at 2670 Coney Island Avenue, and paying off Levitis’ mother’s credit card debt.
Prosecutors said they would seize these properties and freeze over 40 bank accounts connected to Levitis and his companies. These would be liquidated if Levitis is found guilty and forced to reimburse victims of the scheme.
The case is a result of the first criminal-referral from the CFPB. The federal agency was formed in 2011 to “promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer financial products and services,” according to the bureau.
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