CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte woman has been sentenced to prison in a nearly $2 million debt collection scheme.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Carissa Eugenia Brown carried out the scheme from 2015 until July 2020. She’s accused of fraudulently collecting debt from hundreds of victims in North Carolina and across the country.
Brown used three companies she registered in North Carolina to execute the scheme, according to court records.
Brown would reach out to people who had been sued by different creditors over outstanding debt. She would tell them that she was collecting debt on behalf of the creditors, offering them a chance to “...‘settle’ the outstanding debt for a reduced amount, but only if the victims accepted the offer and paid the reduced amount in full, or began to make payments immediately to one of Brown’s companies.”
Authorities said Brown would go as far as to mail her victims documents that appeared to be official. In turn, her victims would pay Brown and her companies -- only to later learn that they were still in debt to their creditors and Brown didn’t have permission to collect on their behalf.
As part of the scheme, Brown threatened to “...to garnish victims’ wages, to seize victims’ bank accounts, or to file judgments in court if payment on the debt was not received.”
In total, Brown and her companies received more than $1.9 million, authorities said. Her victims either had to pay their debt twice or face the consequences of not paying the correct creditor.
Brown pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. She was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and will serve three years under court supervision upon her release. She was also ordered to pay $1,708,920.60 as restitution.
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