Debt Collector Gets Five Years in Prison for Defrauding Thousands

NORCROSS, GA — A man who operated a debt collection agency in Norcross will serve five years in prison for defrauding more than 6,000 victims around the country out of millions of dollars, say federal prosecutors

A federal judge in New York handed down the sentence Thursday to John Todd williams, 50, of Norcross, who was convicted in July of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after a five-day trial. The judge also ordered Williams to pay more than $3.9 million in restitution to his victims.

Williams, aka "Joe Steele," owned Williams, Scott & Associates, also known as Warrant Services Association (WSA). From 2009 to 2014, he and his employees "tricked and coerced victims into making payments to WSA by making false threats and telling a host of lies," prosecutors said in a statement.

Using fake names, the employees made threatening phone calls to people with consumer debt. The threats included falsely claiming that warrants had been issued for the victims’ arrest or that criminal charges were pending against them, the prosecutors said.

WSA employees also falsely claimed that the debt collection firm had contracts with federal or local law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the FBI.

Williams and his employees also attempted to collect debts from victims who had already paid off their loans, prosecutors said. In total, WSA wrongly obtained more than $4.1 million from victims in all 50 states.

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