FTC Recoups Another $2.1 Million for AmeriDebt Victims

The Federal Trade Commission squeezed another $2.1 million out of the ringleader behind a record-breaking credit counseling and debt management scam that defrauded more than 250,000 consumers out of millions of dollars.

The $2.1 million was used to compensate victims of an operation run by Andris Pukke and his companies, AmeriDebt, Inc. and DebtWorks, Inc., first charged by the FTC in 2003 for tricking consumers into paying at least $170 million in hidden fees.

On March 9, the FTC mailed 78,552 refund checks to consumers swindled by Pukke and his companies, with the amount of each check based on the amount of each consumer's loss.