Consumer Law

Collection Agency Steals $2.7 Million from City of Boston

By M. Stan Herring

InsideArm.com has posted an article about a collection agency accused of stealing $2.7 million from the city of Boston.

Prosecution is claiming the president of the collection agency has "transferred more than $2.7 million from a City of Boston bank account to his own company?s account." Walker Associates, Inc. has been under contract with the city of Boston from 1995 to 2007 to collect late motor vehicle excise taxes.

Under the terms of the contract, Walker was required to pay over to the city 100 percent of the taxes and statutory fees collected; the city would then pay Walker Associates a percentage of the fees the company had collected. Each week, Walker Associates was required to pay over to the city the amount of the previous week?s cash payments and cleared checks, and to provide a paper and electronic report detailing the amounts collected from each taxpayer and the date of collection.

In June 2001 the president of the company began taking money out of the city's bank account, claiming it was to cover Walker's business costs. Prosecutors claim that over the next five years, a total of $2.7 million was transferred from the city's account to Walker Associates' account. An arraignment is set for May 12, 2009.

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Full post as published by Alabama Consumer Blog on May 17, 2009 (boomark / email).