Unauthorized debt collector in NC now has to wipe away $23M in people’s debt, state says

Thousands of North Carolina residents are no longer facing a combined millions of dollars in debt to a Charlotte-area collector.

State Attorney General Josh Stein secured a consent judgment for more than $23 million in consumer debt forgiveness for over 20,000 N.C. residents from Gordon Scott Engle of Cornelius and his Texas-based debt collection companies, according to a news release Tuesday. More than 650 people also will receive full refunds totaling over $223,000.

Engle owns Turtle Creek Assets Ltd., Turtle Creek Rentals LLC, and Royal Park Holdings Inc.

“This debt collector operated illegally in North Carolina and took advantage of hardworking people,” Stein said in a statement.

Engle also must pay $2,000 for each business registration violation, $1,475 in unpaid business registration fees, and $20,000 in attorney fees and investigative costs, according to the consent judgment filed Monday in Wake County Superior Court.

Engle and his companies also are permanently banned from collecting debt in North Carolina.

The case against Engle and his agencies

In 2019, Stein sued Engle and his debt collections companies, alleging “unfair and deceptive practices,” according to court documents.

From 2012 to 2018, Stein claimed, Engle illegally used his debt collection companies to purchase unpaid consumer debt from Aaron’s Inc., a national retailer of household furniture, appliances and electronics.

Since 2018, Engle collected or attempted to collect on unpaid debts from North Carolina residents, even though he did not have the correct registration or permits to operate in the state, according to the case filing by Stein.

The debt agencies sent customers fake court notices claiming they had committed a criminal violation and needed to return the property within 48 hours, Stein said in 2019 after receiving a temporary retraining order against Engle and his companies.

“When consumers contacted TCA or TCR, they received more debt collection threats, including threats of arrest,” Stein’s office said in a statement. Criminal complaints were even filed in several counties resulting in court summonses against the North Carolina residents, according to Stein’s office.

Engle and his companies deny any wrongdoing but agreed to the compromise to avoid the burden of continuing litigation, according to the consent judgment.