Sandra L. Bielanski of OSI Collection Services Inc. Indicted, By Robert Paisola

Sandra L. Bielanski of OSI Collection Services Inc. was charged last week with crimes in her role of covering up a six-year over billing spree in the state of New Jersey that resulted in the state overpaying the debt collector by more than $1 million.

The Full Indictment

by Patrick Lunsford
January 12, 2009

The attorney general in New Jersey announced last week that a former sales director at Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. had been charged with various crimes stemming from her role in overbhttp://www.osi-careers.com/about.htmlilling the state for collection services and subsequently covering up the actions and undermining a government investigation.

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccion said in a press release that Sandra Bielanski was being charged with theft by deception, misconduct by a corporate official, and five counts of making false contract payment claims. The office noted that all charges represented second-degree crimes.

The indictments are the latest in a series of actions resulting from a lengthy investigation of OSI billing practices between January 1999 and May 2005. The state claims that OSI overbilled for collection services by more than $1 million in the period. In addition, OSI employees provided gifts to New Jersey officials to ensure the contract would continue.

In February 2007, OSI agreed to pay the state nearly $2 million to resolve issues of over billing and provision of illegal gifts to state employees (“OSI to Pay Nearly $2 million to Settle New Jersey Collection Contract Dispute,” Feb. 7, 2007). But legal action against individual OSI employees and state officials has been ongoing.

OSI noted at the time that all employees involved in the indiscretions were dismissed.

Bielanski was charged last week primarily for her role in covering up the overbilling. The indictment alleges that, as sales director, she became aware of the overbilling and conspired to conceal the false billing from the state.

“We now have indicted three employees of this vendor for deliberately overbilling the state by more than $1 million,” said Attorney General Milgram. “In today’s indictment, we charge that Ms. Bielanski learned of the unlawful billing and was complicit in efforts to cover it up.”

The state had already charged two other former OSI employees as “ring leaders” in the case: Enos Blake, an OSI vice president responsible for managing state projects, and Carol Labbe, his de facto second in command, according to state prosecutors. The AG’s office said that the two deliberately overcharged the state for debt collection work for more than six years, resulting in overpayments of $1,184,662 over that time.

In addition to the former company employee, three officials at New Jersey’s State Division of Taxation were charged with crimes in connection with the case. The former division director, Robert K. Thompson and two deputy directors, David M. Gavin and Harold E. Fox, were charged with making discretionary decisions while under undisclosed conflicts of interest caused by their receipt of meals, entertainment, golf outings and other gifts from OSI. Thompson and Gavin are charged with official misconduct and engaging in a pattern of official misconduct, and Fox is charged with official misconduct, all second-degree offenses.

The press release noted that Bielanski will be ordered to appear at a later date to answer the charges and that second degree crimes in New Jersey carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine.

About OSI:

As one of the nation's leading providers of strategic receivables management services, our clientele includes a blue chip roster of Fortune 500 clients. Through our services, our clients are able to improve their financial performance by accelerating cash flow, lowering operating costs, reducing bad debt expense and improving customer retention.

At OSI, you'll find over 6,000 associates working across 25 states, as well as Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Our revenues exceeded $480 million in 2004.

Whether you're collecting consumer debt, commercial debt or managing the collection of debt we purchased from credit grantors, you'll be part of a great family of financial professionals. OSI is the corporate parent to a family of companies that provide a broad array of services within the account receivables industry. Some of our companies include:

OSI Collection Services, Inc. -
collects consumer and commercial debt, generally for a contingent fee

OSI Outsourcing Services, Inc. -
collects consumer and commercial debt in our clients' name (receivables management)

OSI Portfolio Services, Inc. -
manages the collection of charged off consumer debt purchased by OSI from credit grantors

OSI Education Services, Inc. -
education loan collections

Jennifer Loomis & Associates, Inc. -
medicaid billing

Qualink, Inc. -
healthcare receivables and management outsourcing

Gulf State Credit, LLC -
accounts receivable purchasing

Perimeter Credit, LLC -
accounts receivable purchasing

University Accounting Service, LLC (UAS) -
student loan billing service

RWC Consulting Group, LLC (RWC) -
staff augmentation services

Transworld Systems, Inc (TSI) -
Green Flag Profit Recovery

North Shore Agency, Inc (NSA) -
through the mail billing and collections service

OSI serves clients in the following industry groups:

• Commercial (business-to-business)
• Education
• Finance & Retail
• Government
• Healthcare
• Telecommunications
• Utilities

If you of someone you know is having problems with Rogue Debt Collectors, Please watch our VIP video at www.WesternCapitalMD.com and visit our VIP Site at www.WesternCapitalVIP.com

This is a Complete Copy of the Press Release Anouncing the OSI indictment:

Former Director for OSI Collection Services Charged with Theft & Corporate Misconduct for Overbilling State More Than $1 Million

TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced that the Division of Criminal Justice obtained a new indictment today charging the former sales director of OSI Collection Services Inc. with conspiring to falsely bill the state more than $1 million and cover up the unlawful billing.

According to Director Gramiccioni, the Division of Criminal Justice obtained a seven-count state grand jury indictment charging Sandra Bielanski, 41, of Hillsborough, with theft by deception, misconduct by a corporate official, and five counts of making false contract payment claims, all second-degree crimes.

Two other employees of OSI were previously charged in connection with the false billing. Enos “George” Blake, 61, of Kendall Park, and Carol Labbe, 41, of Jackson, also face second-degree charges of theft by deception, misconduct by a corporate official, and five counts of false contract payment claims. They were initially indicted in February 2007, and were charged in a superseding indictment on March 10, 2008.

The indictment against Blake and Labbe alleges that Blake, as the OSI vice president responsible for managing state projects, and Labbe, as his de facto second in command, purposely submitted improper bills between January 1999 and May 2005 that caused the state to overpay OSI by $1,184,662. The indictment against Bielanski alleges that, as sales director, she became aware of the overbilling by Blake and Labbe and conspired to conceal the false billing from the state.

“We now have indicted three employees of this vendor for deliberately overbilling the state by more than $1 million,” said Attorney General Milgram. “In today’s indictment, we charge that Ms. Bielanski learned of the unlawful billing and was complicit in efforts to cover it up.”

According to Director Gramiccioni, Blake and Labbe were responsible for signing off on payment vouchers submitted to the state under three contracts to collect delinquent and deficient taxes. It is alleged that Blake and Labbe purposely submitted improper bills in connection with nine OSI employees that resulted in the state making payments totaling $1,184,662 that were not authorized under the contracts.

The contracts provided for OSI to bill the state on an hourly basis for work performed in connection with the state contracts by employees who fit five defined job titles. In some cases, employees were identified with incorrect job titles that resulted in them being billed at a higher rate of pay, while in other cases employees were billed who should not have been billed at all.

“The State of New Jersey pays millions of dollars each year to vendors and must be able to count on the integrity of those with whom it does business,” said Director Gramiccioni. “We will vigorously investigate and prosecute corporate officials who deal dishonestly with the state.”

Bielanski also is charged in a state grand jury indictment dated Aug. 10, 2006, along with three employees of the State Division of Taxation. The former division director, Robert K. Thompson, 60, of Hamilton, and two deputy directors, David M. Gavin, 56, of Titusville, and Harold E. Fox, 60, of Wall, are charged with making discretionary decisions while under undisclosed conflicts of interest caused by their receipt of meals, entertainment, golf outings and other gifts from OSI. Thompson and Gavin are charged with official misconduct and engaging in a pattern of official misconduct, and Fox is charged with official misconduct, all second-degree offenses.

Under that indictment, Bielanski is charged with arranging for the state officials to receive the gifts and benefits. She faces six counts of offering an unlawful benefit to a public servant for official behavior, three in the third degree and three in the fourth degree.

The indictments resulted from investigations that were conducted and coordinated by Detective Benjamin Kukis and Deputy Attorneys General Thomas Clark and Steven Zweig of the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Deputy Attorneys General Clark and Zweig presented today’s indictment against Bielanski to the state grand jury.

Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The indictment was handed up to Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Superior Court in Mercer County, where Bielanski will be ordered to appear at a later date to answer the charges. A copy of the indictment is available with this release at www.njpublicsafety.com.

If you of someone you know is having problems with Rogue Debt Collectors, Please watch our VIP video at www.WesternCapitalMD.com and visit our VIP Site at www.WesternCapitalVIP.com

Welcome to Western Capital - How May We Assist You?

Robert Paisola: The Western Capital VIP Program - The best home videos are here

Unifund Class Action in Progress... Robert Paisola Responds

Hi,

I just read a piece on line regarding this Unified case. Yesterday I check my credit report after getting declined from trying to purchase a large item. Unbeknownst to me, this so called "Unifraud" company dinged my credit report back in Oct.07. I have zero letter correspondences from them stating this account, amount, and where it originated from. I think they bought this from an outstanding Citi account I had, and was unable to pay at the time.

How do I get these creeps off my back, prevent a bogus law suit, and STOP them from dinging my credit? I see lots of news on them company,and have come across some guy named Bud Hubbs. This guy said he was some sort of expert in this area, and turned out to be completely useless.

Please help.

Katharine

Midland Credit Management, At it again! by Robert Paisola

Hello Robert,

I have a situation with my credit report. I was able to move it up to a FAIR rating but I want to go higher. Currently there is an account that was listed as a Charge Off but MCM, Midland Credit Management, is still trying to collect on it. If it’s legit, fine, I’ll pay the settlement, but here’s where I have a problem:

1. It shows up on my credit report on five separate lines, all with different amounts.
2. I just called to confirm the settlement offer and initially the rep told me there was no such settlement on file. When I gave her the date I received the letter (just last week), she put me on hold and came back online and all of a sudden she was able to find it.

Question is do I have to pay on a Charge Off account?

Also, I make child support payments regularly and I have made them regularly for years. Still, my current credit report shows that I’m 60 days late several times on my report. How can I resolve this?

I would like to clear up all of the negative reports. Luckily, Bank of America sent me a 3-in-1 report that even gives me my credit score. Please assist in any way possible. I’m due to pay MCM by the end of the month.

Thanks!

Paul

What Debt Collectors Can't Do, Posted by Robert Paisola

What Debt Collectors Can't Do

By Michelle Singletary
Thursday, March 6, 2008; D02

One business is going strong in this flagging economy: debt collection.

And with a growing number of collectors chasing down debtors, complaints are also rising about how debts are being collected.

The Better Business Bureau expects the number of complaints to rise once 2007 figures are calculated. The trend has been upward in the past few years. In 2006, complaints about debt collectors were up 21 percent from the previous year, according to Edward Johnson, president and chief executive of the Better Business Bureau in the District.

"With the current state of the U.S. economy, we are forecasting an all-time high in the number of complaints against the industry," Johnson said.

The Federal Trade Commission said it received 69,204 debt collection complaints in 2006, more than the agency received against any other industry.

After reviewing some recent consumer complaints, Johnson said people have been upset that collectors were contacting neighbors, friends and employers, and making disparaging remarks in an effort to shame the debtors into paying up. "Consumers should accept responsibility for their debts," Johnson said. "However, they do not have to accept abusive collection tactics. They need to know their rights."

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors are required to treat you fairly and are prohibited from using certain methods.

A federal court recently entered a final order against a Florida debt collection agency that used misleading dunning letters and abusive telephone calls to falsely suggest that consumers would be sued, their property seized and their wages garnished if they did not pay what the company said they owed. The collectors were accused of shouting and using abusive language.

The case was brought by the FTC, which held that the company had violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The act applies to those who collect on personal, family and household debts, including car loans, mortgages, charge accounts, and money owed for medical bills.

Here are some of your rights as outlined by the Better Business Bureau:

¿ Debt collectors may not contact you at unreasonable times or places unless you agree, or at work if you tell them that your employer disapproves. That means no calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

¿ Collectors generally cannot contact you after you write a letter to the collection agency telling it to stop. The agency may still inform you if the debt collector or creditor intends to take some specific action. And by the way, this letter does not absolve you from the debt if you actually owe it. You could still be sued by the collector or the original creditor.

¿ Collectors cannot contact your friends, relatives, employer or others, except to find out where you live and work.

¿ They can't tell the people they call or contact that you owe money. And collectors generally are prohibited from contacting such third parties more than once.

¿ They aren't allowed to harass you. This means no threats of harm to you or your reputation and no profane language. They also can't harass you by inundating you with telephone calls.

¿ They cannot make any false statements, including that you will be arrested.

¿ They can't threaten to have money deducted from your paycheck or to sue you, unless the collection agency or creditor actually intends to do so and such collection is legal.

Certainly many debt collectors abide by the law. Many adhere to a code of conduct mandated by ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

"We do not believe the debt collection industry is out of control," said Rozanne Andersen, executive vice president and general counsel for ACA International.

Andersen said the industry has a great deal of communication with consumers and just a fraction of all those dealings lead to discontent.

"Our mantra is to treat consumers with integrity and respect," she said.

If you are contacted by a debt collector, you have a right to a written notice, sent within five days after you are first contacted, that lays out the amount you owe. The letter should include the name of the creditor, and what action to take if you believe you don't owe the money. If you think you have been falsely accused or don't owe the amount claimed, contact the creditor and collection agency in writing.

When debts are collected honestly and fairly, it holds down prices for all of us. But if you feel you are being harassed by a debt collector, you should contact the Better Business Bureau, which may be able to help mediate the situation. Also contact the ACA.

If you're having financial trouble, don't accept harassing behavior from a debt collector. Just because you're a debtor doesn't mean you shouldn't be treated with dignity.

If you are a victim of debt collection abuse, please send a detailed letter outlining exactly what happened, including the name of the company, the collection agancies informtion and contact info to investigations@mycollector.com

Allied Interstate: Thank you Robert Paisola for Your Help!

Dear Mr. Paisola,
Although, I already have legal counsel, I just wanted to commend you for your efforts against Allied Interstate. I, too, have been harassed and threatened by these goons.

They have threatened to garnish my wages, take me to court, report my account to the credit bureau, and they have all been incredibly rude. I even sold my car to my grandmother so I didn't have to worry about them coming and taking it. This all started In July.

A student loan through Sallie Mae got sent to Progressive Financial (collection agency) although I had been paying. What happened was they had applied my payments to other accounts and never bothered to correct that mistake. So I settled with Progressive in September. Matter closed. Or so I thought.

In January, I start receiving auto dial calls, which I just hung up on. I had no idea who they wanted to reach, and I wasn't going hang on hold for someone that I didn't know and didn't call in the first place. Then I got a letter telling me I owe over $2,000. I knew I had received no statements from Sallie Mae in that amount, and I figured out that the amount they were trying to collect is the amount Sallie Mae should have written off. My mother ended up talking to them and they threatened to garnish wages and sue me.

She didn't know at the time that the debt had been settled through someone else and agreed to pay $50/month. Thank goodness she didn't end up doing so. Then I spoke to a guy (I certainly wouldn't use the term gentleman) who was incredibly rude. He was sarcastic, he implied I was lying when I said that the debt had been settled, and he would not listen and kept saying he didn't understand or get it. It was as if what I was trying to say was in Latin.

He then threatened to garnish my wages and sue me. I took a deep breath and tried to explain again slowly. He got nasty and said gritting my teeth won't make him go away. He also said not to talk to him like I do my kids (I have no kids, thank you) and try to make him feel stupid. I got angry, told him I wasn't going to put up with his snide mouth and hung up. After this call, is when I hired my attorney. A few days later, I get another call. This time, I have until 2.28.08 to pay or else they're going to sue me.

When I explained I don't owe it, he said yes you do. I said I already took care of it, and besides that, I had never received anything from Sallie Mae stating that I owe the amount Allied is trying to collect. He said "yes you did, many times." I said, unless you've been somehow stealing from my mail box, I'm well aware of what I do and do not receive. I said look, I'm tired of you people threatening and harassing, and he denied that he was doing anything of the sort.

He then asked if my attorney was going to pay the debt, which is a bizarre question. I said no. He said then how is he going to pay it. This guy is totally off his rocker by this point and I don't even know what he was saying. I kept saying "excuse me" because I wanted to give him the name and number of my attorney, but he wouldn't shut up long enough for me to do so, and I hung up on him.

I have received another letter. This time they want to settle for a lesser amount and if I don't respond in 10 days. they may not offer the settlement anymore. I don't care because I don't owe anything. Also they said that if I don't pay, Sallie Mae can report my account information to the credit bureaus. If they do that, I'll have their hide since I already paid and I have proof. I've been receiving at least two calls a day. Most of the time, no one says anything. I am pretty sure it's Allied trying to harass me.

The next time I spoke to a person from there, I discussed nothing. I simply gave him my attorney's name and number...and they STILL CALLED! They called today, in fact. My dad told them they had the wrong number. I can't even answer the phone anymore because I just am sick to death of these crooks. It's incredibly stressful. I have filed a lawsuit against Allied Interstate. I don't even care if I get money from them, I just don't ever want to hear from them again.

I also want the $2000 written off like it should have been in the first place. I want my peace of mind back, and it would be great to answer the telephone without worrying about threats being made. I'm sure that is mild compared to many of the stories you've heard regarding Allied. I have listened to the "Nicole phone call", and that woman is a nightmare.

I am just glad that you are helping people that are in the same boat as I am to fight back against these cons. No one should have to put up with that. If you wish post my story on your website, please feel free to do so. If you do, I only ask that my last name be omitted. If you don't that's cool, too. I just want to voice my support of your efforts. I cannot understand how Allied Interstate is still in business. Keep up your great work against Allied. The more people that fight back, the more people will be aware of Allied Interstate's criminality.

And if enough people fight them, maybe, just maybe we can get Allied Interstate gone once and for all.

Stay strong and keep fighting.

Erin