Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has obtained a $1.3 million default judgment against a Munster debt collection agency that allegedly engaged in abusive and deceptive business practices.
New Britain Financial LLC and its owner, Nelson Macwan of Illinois, allegedly committed multiple violations of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act – including threatening consumers with lawsuits, arrest, garnishments and liens without having judgments against the consumers.
Rokita
“I’ll always work to protect Hoosiers from businesses that break the law or otherwise engage in misconduct that harms consumers,” Rokita said. “We value every company that wants to do business in our state, but they have to follow our laws and respect the rights of our citizens.”
The judgment obtained by Rokita includes more than $300,000 in restitution for consumers, more than $1 million in civil penalties, and an order prohibiting the defendants from engaging in debt collection in or from the State of Indiana.
The Office of the Attorney General filed a civil complaint against New Britain Financial and Nelson Macwan in September 2020, alleging they engaged in deceptive and abusive debt collection practices and acted as a debt collection agency from their Indiana office without a license.
The complaint alleged that despite being denied an Indiana debt collection agency license for 2019 and despite an earlier court order prohibiting it from engaging in debt collection from Indiana, New Britain Financial continued to operate in-state. Operating a debt collection agency without a license in Indiana constitutes a violation of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
The Lake County Superior Court issued the judgment against New Britain Financial and Nelson Macwan after they failed to respond to the complaint.