Commercial Group Case Results

Garrett Smith -- In Polacsek v. Debticated Consumer Counseling, et al. Case No. 2004-cv-00631 (D. Maryland) MichieHamlett represented a class of approximately 500,000 victims of a fraudulent credit counseling scheme. The class members were deceived by AmeriDebt, which was then one of the nations’ largest credit counseling firms. It and related non-profits falsely claimed that they were non-profit and tax exempt organizations while their founder received tens of millions of dollars traceable to the false non-profits. The trial court decided that the Credit Repair Organizations Act allowed the plaintiffs to pursue claims against the founder personally. Polacsek v. Debticated Consumer Counseling, 413 F. Supp. 2d 539 (D. Md. 2005). In 2006, we obtained a $35 million settlement from the founder for violations of that law.

Garrett Smith -- In Zimmerman v. Cambridge Credit Corp., et al., Case No. 2003-cv-30261 (D. Massachusetts) MichieHamlett represented a class of approximately 225,000 victims of fraudulent credit counseling scheme that centered on another family of false non-profit credit counseling organizations. In 2009, the court entered judgments of over $250,000,000 against corporate and individual defendants. The case made new law when the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston agreed that the Plaintiffs could look behind the initial IRS determination that the defendant companies were non-profits. Zimmerman v. Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. 409 F.3d 473 (1st Cir, 2005). The judgment is under appeal.

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