Conviction Upheld for "Bags of Money" Debt Collector

The top appeals court in New York last week upheld the criminal conviction of Tobias “Bags of Money” Boyland unanimously. The conviction Boyland had appealed dealt with weapons charges that were uncovered after he was arrested in 2009 for numerous debt collection violations and fraud.

In September 2009, New York’s then-attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, announced a sweeping action against a Buffalo, N.Y. collection agency network owned and operated by Boyland. According to the suit, the companies stole thousands of dollars from consumers from across the country by using the threat of criminal charges and incarceration to collect debts that often did not exist, had passed the statute of limitations or had been previously discharged through bankruptcy. The collectors also regularly inflated the amount owed on an actual debt and would falsely tell consumers that they were being sued in civil court.

The debt collection charges escalated to larceny and fraud charges and then weapons charges when officials found illegal guns in Boyland’s home. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and then did something really dumb: he fled, becoming a fugitive for more than four months. He eventually pled guilty to skipping out on bail, but appealed his weapons conviction.

With the decision from the court last week, Boyland is set to serve 15 years in prison plus additional time for running from police.

This is another reminder of the public relations issues that the ARM industry faces with consumers and their advocates. The general media treats Boyland as a debt collector, when in fact, he was a criminal that picked the debt collection business model as a platform for his malfeasance. Once officials began investigating his “business,” it became clear that FDCPA violations were the least of their concerns.