January 2010 I don't understand why you people talk so badly about collection agencies that are giving people thousands of jobs. OK, maybe they do use scare tactics when needed, but why aren't the debtors held accountable for their actions. They are the reason are economy is in SHAMBLES. I may not agree with the work ethic of some people there, but you people know you accrued the debt and most of you admit it on the phone. If you want to avoid being called by a collection agency, PAY YOUR BILLS!
That's a novel approach. You're the first person in history to come up with that argument. Look, we have no problem with debt collection or agencies or their employees. What we highlight are lawbreakers.
December
2009 Eastern
Asset Management I received a call from this
company and did not answer because I did not know the
number. Well, they left a message stating that I have
no returned their numerous calls, and they are filing an
action against you and to call or have my attorney call
before 9 pm if I wished to be served my summons to court
somewhere rather than my home!
I was FREAKED out! I called them back, Mrs. Cowart, more
like Coward, anyways she stated I needed to set up
payment or they could take a settlement of 1,500 if I paid
today as my debt was over 3000.
I told her I didn't have it. Well, she said I will be
summoned and good luck.
I googled these guys and everything said to NOT PAY them.
Well I came across a complaint that said to call the
Attorney General and I did.
Karen Davis, contacted me and sent me a complaint form, I am
sending it back and they are going to send one to EAM. She
said in NO way will they sue me. She said to NEVER PAY THEM
and not to worry about them. She said she knew them very
well and they are a scam. I suggest you call and
file a complaint of you hear from these freaks!
716-853-8416
November 2009 Eastern Asset Management I received my first phone call from Mr. Carter today. I did not answer but Mr. Carter did leave a message. In this message he stated that this was a message for me and then he also used my maiden name. He said that if he didn't hear from me immediately, that a civil matter with my name attached would be filed with the county court where I currently live. He gave me a bogus company name because when I plugged in the phone number into the internet, Eastern Asset Management was the actual company and not the one he said. He also said that he was calling on behalf of Attorney ________ (or something like that). I haven't received anything in writing from this company and I have no idea what debt they are referring to. I have read many of the tips on this website and now feel more informed.
October
2009 Eastern
Asset Management I have several calls
from a John Hampskule. The first call I received he used my
maiden name and advised there was a civil lawsuit that was
going to be filed in a county I had not resided in for 3
years and if I did not contact him he would subpoena my
parents. First off, I do no reside with my parents so he
would not have been able to do that anyway. I foolishly
returned is call and left a message stating my first name
only and advising him I wasn't sure what this was about as I
had not lived in that county for 3 years. Meanwhile,
my husband googled them and found this site and advised me
to cease contact.
He returned my call and I ignored him. After which he
continued to call me and then changed his story to filing a
civil suit in a county that I did not reside again. My
thoughts were he looked up the zip code of my phone number
located what city it was for and then assumed that was the
county I resided in. He is wrong. He has continued to call
me advising he is going through with the suit in the
incorrect county and that he will have me subpoenaed in my
jurisdiction. Obviously, this is a complete scam given that
he doesn't even have the correct information. He even went
has far as to contact my sister-in-law to try and get a hold
of me. I wonder what the story will be tomorrow.
October 2009 Ethical Asset Management Frank Santiago is the owner. Greg McKinnon (Doug's brother) is backing him. Frank has all his employees listed as independent contractors so he can avoid taxes and unemployment. He has more than 100 employees. Santiago and Jason Rosen have also started Northern Asset Management. They are told to say they work under attorney _________. Here are Eastern Asset workers: Joe Cicero Manager Allan Bourquin Amy Clark Adrew Savage Agela Bonanducci Barry Farmer Brad St Clair Charlene Poorman Chris Mathien Elzie St John Holly Manke Jermaine Crittendon Marlon Barber Mike Agliano Nick Curtis Porsha Broadway Randy Jamison Russ Manguso Samantha Hehir Tim Hagerman Steve Faltisko Travis Casey Linda Brogan Michelle Voit
October
2009 Eastern
Asset Management The deadbeats at Eastern took yet
another judgment. If my calculations are correct, Owner
Frank Santiago and DEADBEAT Lawyer ______________ must be
well over 1/2 million in unpaid judgments by now.
PLEASE warn your readers that they do not ever have to pay
Eastern Asset Management or the law offices of _________.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Eastern Asset is in default and Plaintiff is entitled to
an Entry of Judgment.
2. Eastern Asset's false, deceptive, and threatening
communications violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act. 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq.
3. After considering the frequency and nature of these
violations, the Court determines that Plaintiff is entitled
to recover maximum statutory damages in the amount of $
1,000.00. 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(2) .. Plaintiff is also
entitled to recover his attorneys' fees and costs. 15
U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(3).
4. The Court finds the amount of Plaintiff's [*3] attorneys'
fees and costs ($ 4,237.00) to be supported by the record,
reasonable, and fully recoverable.
September 2009 Eastern Asset Management These people have called me SEVERAL times telling me that either papers have been filed or that they will be filed in my county's court. I have asked many times for them to send me everything they have regarding this debt (from 2003) that I am not sure is mine. I have yet to receive a thing from them (other than phone calls).
September
2009 I
was contacted by eastern asset management in sept. 08 about
a debt that was from 2005. i was threatened to be sued by
their collection agency and complied with their settlement.
I paid them a total of 3 $500 checks. and they promised that
it would be erased off my credit report but it never was, is
there anything i can do??
Eastern Asset Management is a
criminal debt collection agency. Owners Frank Santiago and
Greg Mackinnon have
tens of thousands of dollars in judgments against them for
ripping off consumers. The New York State Attorney General
is seeking victims of this criminal organization. Contact: NY AG Consumer
Frauds Buffalo Regional Office
Phone:(716) 853-8416 Fax: (716)853-8414
September 2009 I work for this place where criminals and drugs are as normal as walking and eating. Our checks bounced again because our wonderful owner Frank Santiago went out on a pepsi binge all weekend. When Frank is out doing pepsi all he cares about is girls, booze and more pepsi. Did I say pepsi...I mean coke.
July 2009 This company is owned and run by Frank Santiago, who works under Greg & Doug Mackinnon as Eastern Asset and Ethical Asset Management. They have more than $200k in unpaid judgments against them for violating debt collection laws. This is a typical Mackinnon operation where they threaten litigation using a a dumb ass lawyer, make as much money as possible, then close up when the heat gets too close. Warn readers not to pay them because the McKinnon's will be folding this shop to open another before they get indicted by the New York Attorney General.
May 2009 EASTERN ASSET MANAGEMENT EXPOSED AKA ETHICAL ASSET MANAGEMENT 2395 STALEY ROAD GRAND ISLAND, NY 14072 716-842-6033
Just so you are aware the McKinnons are at it again! Greg McKinnon, Doug's brother has partnered up with Frank Santiago current owner to run this shady company that has out of State offices in SC and homes users in the State of Florida and New York claiming all to be working in New York. Doesn't he have to be barred in those States for people to be using him and since when is it legal to have collectors working from home saying they are calling from Nicolia's office in NEW YORK? I know this information because several people who are in this business where I live *(Buffalo) work for these so called companies, one in Hamburg and in Durby. All these people feel like dirt bags cause they are forced to call people and threaten them to pay a debt that has been paid already to another company and then sold to these criminals who are well aware they are paid accounts but claim they have gotten a good price to buy this junk debt so collect or else they will not have a job our economy is so bad these collectors stay in fear of them selves too becoming a DTR (debtor?) and have to deal with the same tactics they inflict on people just so they can take care of their family.
Not only is the economy in a recession now they are trying to scam people into repaying a debt they have already taken a settlement on! When will this stop! I know we all hear horror stories of collectors being mean and vindictive but the real criminals of this are the owners and top managers at these companies. Constant stress is put on these collectors to perform or get fired. It is almost as they are forced to break laws just to be able to put food on the table in a time in our country where if you were to quit or get fired from your job there are not many more jobs available to support themselves Yes, there are some very heartless people in this business that give the rest of the industry a bad name but it is the people running the company and others training them to be this way or get out. all I know when I hear stores about my friends demanding people to pay money on HSBC credit cares that are already paid. and when brought to management to discuss with them how wrong they think it is they are told to get back on the phone and make money. Or how they have no monitoring system at all or do not record information when they are taking a payment over the phone! isn't that against the law not to record payment information? It's the people behind the sense who bark orders and sit back while other people collect their illegal money in fear of them. They are the real scum bags and they should be stopped. They encourage people and train people to break laws. while they sit back and collect their money.
And once a complaint comes in they blame it on the collector these are the people with no souls that need to be reprimanded. Do with this info as you must but people like this need to be called out on their lawbreaking and mis deeds. Have the AG investigate, pull their computer files of accounts. The proof if in their system. This company needs to be stopped. Now it's up to you to stop them - don't send them any money. Hang up when they call! Tell them you know about their scam.
May
2009 Whom
to contact in case of FDCPA violation? In majority of the
cases, debtors who have been harassed by debt collectors
report irregularities to the Attorney General of the
respective states. You can also approach the Federal Trade
Commission or FTC to register your complaints.
A Mr Ponderaro threatened me on a message on my answering
machine, "This is a Procession Summons from EASTERN ASSET
MANAGEMENT for the law firm of _________, you can get 6
months in jail, for case number (fake
case number # trying to get me to think it is legit), etc,
call me at 1-888-743-4628." He also said my father's name,
not mine (breaking another FDCPA regulation).
EASTERN ASSET MANAGEMENT AKA ETHICAL ASSET MANAGEMENT is a
bottom feeder Collection Agency, Extracting money by giving
false threats and using intimidation tactics.
Nicolia John Law Office is a bogus front for their
Collection Agency operations. They say they are a "Law
firm". They have no lawyers but say they are a law firm
(scam, scam, scam). They call people's families and say they
are trying to keep their loved ones out of court and jail so
they should make a payment right away. Once they get your
money they vanish or change their number. There are many
people that work in the "office" and they keep giving fake
names. Avoid.
Do not return the call, nor give ANY information.
Report false threats to the Attorney General.
Avoid. Caller ID: 1-888-743-4628
Caller: EASTERN ASSET MANAGEMENT
March 2009 I
received a voicemail message from Mr. Grosso who advised on
the message he was an investigator calling on behalf of the
atty at law - ___________ office and that they have a
request to suspend my driver's license as well as a subpoena
to all bank and financial institutions for any avail assets.
I have save this message). when I called the number the
operator stated it was not a law office but a collection
agency-Eastern Asset Management. they do have a lawyer who
worked in the office named John Nicola. I sent an email to
cease and desist all contact to my workplace as well as send
me paper copies of this debt. I explained that I was a
victim of fraud. he was very nasty and aggressive. He
continued to threaten me if I didn't send him money in 24
hours.
We are told that Eastern/Ethical
Asset Management is owned by Gregory McKinnon and Frank
Santiago both deeply involved with many failed Buffalo area
collection operations. Greg's brother Doug was a partner in
the First American Investment organization that took more
than $20 Million from investors, then filed for bankruptcy.
The Mackinnon's typically open junk debt agencies, then pay
a local attorney fees ranging from 12-15% of what they make
so they can represent themselves as a law office. We have
posted a contact with the Attorney Grievance Committee in
Buffalo for consumers to file complaints. We encourage
anyone being contacted to record their conversations (where
legal) and make Eastern legally validate the debts. As with
almost all former agencies, these places usually are sued
into bankruptcy or oblivion so don't think sending them any
money will help you or your credit. It is also well known
that Mackinnon/Santiago purchased accounts are very short in
validation, meaning there is little or no paperwork to back
up their claims. There is nothing credible about anything
these people do, they are likely very desperate to grab as
much money as possible before they are shut down. We could
not find one state that has issued a license or bond to
collect debts. These are desperate people with a long
history of lawlessness, expect to be lied to, threatened,
harassed and extortion committed in an attempt to take your
money.
February 2009 This company has been bought out by the MacKinnon's and many of the same collectors from Aurora Gold and associates work here including many of the managers and at least 10 of the employees. Some work from home--is that even legal? These people are collecting on junk paper that have been already settled out. These people are felons and need to be stopped!
February 2009 MY FIANCÉ RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM EASTERN ASSET MANAGEMENT. THEY TOLD HIM THEY GOT HIS NUMBER FROM A REFERENCE I PUT ON AN APPLICATION. THEY ALSO TOLD HIM THAT I OWED $1608 ON A CREDIT CARD FROM BACK IN 2005 BUT THEY WOULD SETTLE OUT OF COURT IF I PAID $650. WHEN MY FIANCÉ REQUESTED THEY SEND ME MY INFORMATION SO THAT I COULD LOOK IT OVER AND SEE ABOUT TAKING CARE OF IT. THEY TOLD HIM NO THAT ALL THEY COULD DO WAS EMAIL ME OR FAX ME. AND THAT IF THEY DIDN'T GET THE MONEY THEY WERE GOING TO SUBPOENA ME AT MY PLACE OF RESIDENCE OR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT. SO I WAS CURIOUS AS TO THE CREDIT CARD WHICH I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PAY OFF SINCE 2006 WITH CLOUT FINICAL. WHO ALL OF A SUDDEN DISAPPEARED. AND SINCE THEN THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN 3 YEARS I HAVE HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SO I CALLED THEM BACK TO FIND OUT WHICH COMPANY IT WAS ABSORBED BY AND MAYBE TO SEE HOW I COULD TAKE CARE OF THIS SITUATION. THE NUMBER I CALLED WAS (716) 312-0822 X:100 ON 02/25/09. THE MAN I SPOKE WITH SAID THE NAME OF THE COMPANY BUT NEVER TOLD ME HIS NAME. SO WHEN I REQUESTED HE SEND THE INFORMATION HE HAD OF MINE BE SENT TO BY MAIL. HE DENIED ME AND SAID HE DID NOT HAVE THAT INFORMATION BUT HE DID HAVE MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. AND ALL HE COULD DO WAS EITHER FAX ME OR EMAIL ME. I TOLD HIM HE COULD EMAIL ME BUT THAT I WOULD ALSO NEED A SIGNED AND WRITTEN NOTICE SENT TO ME BY MAIL ALONG WITH ALL OF MY INFORMATION AND HE QUICKLY DENIED ME AGAIN. HE THEN PROCEED TO TELL ME THE SAME THING HE TOLD MY FIANCÉ ABOUT THE SUBPOENA. AND THAT IF I DID NOT SEND HIM THEM MONEY IN THE AMOUNT OF $650 THEY WERE GOING TO TAKE ME TO COURT AND THAT IT WAS GOING TO COST ME $3000. AS I EXPLAINED THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE MONEY BY THAT DATE HE DECIDED TO MOVE IT BACK AND TELL ME THAT IT WAS NOW GOING TO COST ME $900.
February 2009 Consumers: We received a notice based on our disclaimer below several weeks back telling us that Attorney John Paul Nicolia was not involved in any way with Eastern Asset or Ethical Asset. As our policy is to try to provide factual information, we removed Eastern from our site awaiting confirmation - after many many consumer complaints, we inquired again of Mr. Nicolia to clarify his position with Eastern Asset. He has not yet responded. If we are able to determine via independent records, we will make the clarification known to the public.
February 2009 i worked for frank Santiago for 2 very long months last march & April in 2008 ,i got out quickly after finding out how crooked they were. i have never gotten a w2 from him or the wonderful hr person Linda Bogan his sister i have called franks personal cell phone and gotten no call back i have also called the office and gotten no call back Tuesday i will notify the IRS. not sure if that will affect Mr. Santiago or not. FYI he is in the process of opening another office in sc and Puerto Rico as we speak. any suggestions as to how i can put him thru the ringer will be great
September 2008 This is a collection agency who keeps contacting my house. A woman first attempted to call and she was very rude with me when I told her that my husband was not home. She told me I was lying and needed to stop hiding because they where going to get me. Then they continued calling me and hanging up on me several times in a row! I have called and spoke with Mr. Hudson about the issue and he told me to GO FLY A KITE. He said he was not in customer service and that he and his employees could speak to me in any manner they felt fit. HE then began to speak to me in a manner that was unacceptable and inexcusable for any credit collection facility. He refused to let me speak to anyone with any higher authority than himself. He told me i was a dead beat who needed to get a job. I have a job! He also mad a threat to me that he would be seeing me on Tuesday and when I called it to his attention he retracted his words.
September 2008 Thomas Lesabre Law office aka krane & Associates A Glenn Ingersoll called and stated he was a attorney with Lesabre and assoc and I was in contempt of court for failure to appear "on what a credit card bill" He told me he was a federal officer also the county deputy is standing by "I said yeah right on a Friday at 4pm. I looked up his number and found you guys. I need more info
http://www.gobignetwork.com/profiles/GLENN-INGERSOLL.aspx
Krane & Associates Lesabre law
office Thomas Lesabre Law office
Phillips & Burns, Eastern Asset Management
1-888-813-4333 716-713-9816 716-580-3385
August 2008 I'm leaving here next payday, but on the way out, here's a name or two to watch out for:
Dominick Puntoriero, Courtney Faltisko, Brad St Claire, Kristin St Claire, Ruth Johnson, Linda Brogan, Ryan Kaczmarek, Corrin Hudson, Steve Roberts, Mike Slawek, Brad Hannel, Len Regnatta, Angela Bonaducci, Sara Staniszewski, Nick Curtis, Amber Draudt, Mark Tomasulo, Mike Gagliano, Chace Carstens
August 2008 I see you have something about Sherry Meadows and Frank Santiago in your site blog. What I don't see is you connecting Frank Santiago with owning Eastern Asset Management in Blasdell, NY I'm sure it is another one of the MacKinnon hiding places. Also around a week ago there was an article about Doug MacKinnon in the Buffalo News something about having the hardship of 10 children and trying to provide for them. I'm not sure what it was all about because I just skimmed it but the name was spelled the same so not knowing who this Mackinnon guy is I can only assume it is one in the same. You may want to go to Buffalonews.com and see if you can find the article. Anyway, now you can connect the people behind this Eastern Asset Management place.
June 2008 I've had a recent run-in with this company. And I just found out today that it's a scam! I am in the process of putting in stop payments so they can't withdraw money from my account. I am putting in my comments phone numbers and names I have been dealing with. 843-793-4029 also 1-877-312-0822 (phone number of Kelly Savage)