A Lancaster man imprisoned on a parole violation has been accused by Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of illegally operating his Buffalo debt collection agency from federal prison.

Lamont Cooper, 38, formerly of Heritage Drive, continued to operate CMC Recovery Services Inc., doing business as Legal Action Recovery, after he was taken into custody in October 2009 for violating the terms of his release on a 1997 drug conviction, Cuomo said.

“This suspect is accused of continuing to run an abusive debt collection operation despite a court order barring him from doing so and despite being an inmate in federal prison,” Cuomo said. “Such disregard of the law will not be tolerated, and we will hold him accountable for the harm he has caused to families throughout the country.”

In 2009, Cooper was barred by court order from collecting debts after Cuomo’s office determined the business regularly used threats and intimidation against consumers. He was ordered to pay restitution statewide for debts collected under various business names, including CMC, Mean Development, Dial Tech, Claims Process Services, Claims America, Loam & Barrens, and Murray and Bradshaw & Associates.

Law enforcement agencies monitored Cooper’s phone and mail correspondence while he was in the federal detention center in Batavia, and matched up names used in that correspondence with documents found behind the CMC offices at 3060 Bailey Ave. Officials determined that Cooper instructed employees how to manage accounts and personnel and requested he know about “all banking activity,” Cuomo said.

During the civil investigation into these actions, investigators found that collectors demanded payment for non-existent debts and debts that had passed the statute of limitations. They did this, investigators found, by posing as law enforcement officers and ask-

ing victims to pay them by credit card, authorize withdrawals from their checking accounts or send money through Western Union.

In one letter, Cooper wrote to an associate: “Well they really socked it to me. The whole motivation was to end my source of income. . . . This makes the collection business or buying/selling debt a federal charge for me. Anyway, I would like for you to manage my interest.”

Cooper then went on to detail how he wanted his specific business interests managed.

In another letter, Cooper warned an associate of being detected: “Everything I do will be carefully monitored,” he wrote. “Our only open discussion will have to take place face to face during visits.”

Cooper faces charges of first-degree scheming to defraud, which carries a maximum term of four years in prison, and second- degree criminal contempt, which carries up to a year in jail.

The charges are part of an ongoing investigation by Cuomo into unlawful debt collection practices.

cspecht@buffnews.comnull