Banned Collector Charged With Bank Fraud, Identity Theft
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Federal investigators charged a Minnesota debt collector with using his access to credit bureaus and consumer databases to steal identities and defraud financial institutions across the U.S.
Khemall "Kenny" Jokhoo, 34, whose aliases include Kevin Smith, Kevin Day and Mike Lee, ran a one-man collection agency called First Financial Services from 2002 until November 2009, when the Minnesota Department of Commerce revoked its license for unfair collection practices.
Federal investigators said in court filings that Jokhoo, because he was a licensed debt collector, accessed a LexisNexis product called Accurint for Collections, giving him Social Security numbers, birth dates, employment history, credit, banking and other personal information.
Jokhoo used information from LexisNexis and credit bureaus to contact people and demand money, and to impersonate them when calling their financial institutions. Several of the banks' caller ID systems captured Jokhoo's phone number.
According to an affidavit filed to obtain search warrants for his apartment and former home, Jokhoo ran an unauthorized credit check with Experian as recently as January, and has been seen working from his Burnsville, Minn. apartment this summer, according to an affidavit.
Investigators seized computer equipment, financial records, notes, a cellphone and mail, according to court documents. Investigators said they have evidence implicating Jokhoo in aggravated identity theft and bank fraud. Jokhoo could not be reached for comment.
Jokhoo was stripped of his collection and real estate licenses by the Department of Commerce, and fined $100,000 in May 2011 for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
An administrative law judge had found that Jokhoo had misrepresented himself as a lawyer, made unauthorized withdrawals from debtors' financial institutions, harassed consumers over old and uncollectable accounts, cashed forged checks and concealed his criminal record on at least seven state license applications since 2005.
Allegations about Jokhoo's aggressive collection tactics originally surfaced in October 2007 when Eugene R. Myers of Janesville, Wis., sued him and his employer in federal court.
Myers said that Jokhoo had threatened to embarrass him by having him arrested and by serving him with court papers at the church where he worked. The defendants denied wrongdoing and quickly settled the case.
The complaints continued. Edwin Galestian of La Crescenta, Calif., said he reported Jokhoo to the police for unrelenting harassment. He said Jokhoo worked through a credit bureau to change Galestian's mailing address to Minnesota, though he's never been in the state.
The judge hearing Jokhoo's licensing case found that Jokhoo or someone working with him had tricked Galestian's bank into sending him a $40,000 check, that Galestian's signature had been forged and the check deposited in an account under Jokhoo's control.
The signature on the check bore a strong resemblance to Jokhoo's writing, the judge noted.
The judge found that Jokhoo misrepresented himself as an attorney and had threatened to have Jill and Keith Diffey of Elk Grove, Calif., arrested. The judge also found that Jokhoo had tricked the couple's bank into wiring his company more than $5,100 and caused their credit card company to transfer $3,900 to his firm's bank account without their approval.
By Darren Waggoner
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Federal investigators charged a Minnesota debt collector with using his access to credit bureaus and consumer databases to steal identities and defraud financial institutions across the U.S.
Khemall "Kenny" Jokhoo, 34, whose aliases include Kevin Smith, Kevin Day and Mike Lee, ran a one-man collection agency called First Financial Services from 2002 until November 2009, when the Minnesota Department of Commerce revoked its license for unfair collection practices.
Federal investigators said in court filings that Jokhoo, because he was a licensed debt collector, accessed a LexisNexis product called Accurint for Collections, giving him Social Security numbers, birth dates, employment history, credit, banking and other personal information.
Jokhoo used information from LexisNexis and credit bureaus to contact people and demand money, and to impersonate them when calling their financial institutions. Several of the banks' caller ID systems captured Jokhoo's phone number.
According to an affidavit filed to obtain search warrants for his apartment and former home, Jokhoo ran an unauthorized credit check with Experian as recently as January, and has been seen working from his Burnsville, Minn. apartment this summer, according to an affidavit.
Investigators seized computer equipment, financial records, notes, a cellphone and mail, according to court documents. Investigators said they have evidence implicating Jokhoo in aggravated identity theft and bank fraud. Jokhoo could not be reached for comment.
Jokhoo was stripped of his collection and real estate licenses by the Department of Commerce, and fined $100,000 in May 2011 for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
An administrative law judge had found that Jokhoo had misrepresented himself as a lawyer, made unauthorized withdrawals from debtors' financial institutions, harassed consumers over old and uncollectable accounts, cashed forged checks and concealed his criminal record on at least seven state license applications since 2005.
Allegations about Jokhoo's aggressive collection tactics originally surfaced in October 2007 when Eugene R. Myers of Janesville, Wis., sued him and his employer in federal court.
Myers said that Jokhoo had threatened to embarrass him by having him arrested and by serving him with court papers at the church where he worked. The defendants denied wrongdoing and quickly settled the case.
The complaints continued. Edwin Galestian of La Crescenta, Calif., said he reported Jokhoo to the police for unrelenting harassment. He said Jokhoo worked through a credit bureau to change Galestian's mailing address to Minnesota, though he's never been in the state.
The judge hearing Jokhoo's licensing case found that Jokhoo or someone working with him had tricked Galestian's bank into sending him a $40,000 check, that Galestian's signature had been forged and the check deposited in an account under Jokhoo's control.
The signature on the check bore a strong resemblance to Jokhoo's writing, the judge noted.
The judge found that Jokhoo misrepresented himself as an attorney and had threatened to have Jill and Keith Diffey of Elk Grove, Calif., arrested. The judge also found that Jokhoo had tricked the couple's bank into wiring his company more than $5,100 and caused their credit card company to transfer $3,900 to his firm's bank account without their approval.
By Darren Waggoner
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