An unlicensed debt collection agency was fined $7,500 last month for collecting a debt and keeping all the money, according to the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Brooks, Newman & Stone, Inc., based in Florida, was hired by a South St. Paul business, Intelligent Touch Dental, to collect a debt owed by a Lakeland customer.
In February 2010, the debtor paid Brooks, Newman & Stone $2,030, but the agency failed to forward any money to the dental business, the state said.
State inquiries to the collection agency went unanswered and the company failed to show up for a hearing.
The Better Business Bureau has given the company an F rating for failing to respond to bureau inquiries on behalf of disgruntled customers.
Read the Department of Commerce orders here: