Norcross Debt Collector Convicted For Defrauding Thousands

Norcross, GA — The owner of a defunct Norcross debt collection agency was convicted Tuesday of defrauding more than 6,000 cash-strapped Americans out of millions of dollars.

John Todd Williams, aka "John Steele," was found guilty by a federal jury in Manhattan of conspiring to commit wire fraud.

According to federal prosecutors, Williams, who owned Williams, Scott & Associates LLC, and his employees "tricked and coerced victims into making payments to WSA by making false threats and telling a host of lies."

Between 2009 and 2014, WSA employees, usually using fake names, would falsely tell consumers they had committed crimes such as "check fraud" or "depository check fraud" and told them if they didn't make payments, warrants would be issued for their arrests.

Employees also falsely claimed the company had contracts with federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"To falsely create an appearance of legitimacy, and further trick their victims into making payments, WSA employees routinely used legal terminology to invent legitimate-sounding, but completely bogus, explanations for the supposed imminent arrest of the victims, including for example, that the 'statute of limitations' on the victims’ 'civil legal rights' had expired and therefore the matter was now a criminal matter that could be resolved only by voluntary payment to WSA, or arrest," the U.S. Attorney's office said in a news release.

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 dollars from more than 6,000 victims in all 50 states.

"The conviction today brings an end to Williams’s massive scam that used scare tactics and threats to coerce millions of dollars out of thousands around the country," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Tuesday.

Williams faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He will be sentenced Oct. 28 by U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan.

Williams was convicted after a five-day jury trial. He has been held without bail since his arrest in 2014.