US court halts McDonnell debt collection operation
The temporary order freezes the defendants’ assets and puts the company under a receiver’s control. The FTC says consumers paid the defendants more than $20 million.
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The temporary order freezes the defendants’ assets and puts the company under a receiver’s control. The FTC says consumers paid the defendants more than $20 million.
Sole source: A federal court has temporarily halted McDonnell & Associates’ debt collection operation, frozen the defendants’ assets and put the company under a court-appointed receiver’s control while the case continues, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a November 9 announcement. The court issued the temporary restraining order on 5 November 2026.
The FTC alleges that the company and its owners pressured people to pay debts that many did not owe. The allegations remain for the court to decide. The FTC says consumers paid the defendants more than $20 million in total.
The complaint names McDonnell & Associates LLC and its owners, Oscar Gerardo Gonzalez Martin and Oscar Ruiz Canela. The company also did business as First Capital Group, Maxwell & Bryant Group and Lewis, McDonnell & Associate LLC.
The FTC alleges that the defendants falsely presented themselves as a law firm or as affiliated with attorneys. It says they left deceptive voicemails and threatened to contact people’s employers and family members if they did not respond.
When people called back, the defendants threatened lawsuits, wage garnishment and property liens to obtain payment, the complaint alleges. The FTC alleges that the defendants neither took those actions nor intended to.
The FTC also alleges that the defendants failed to identify themselves as debt collectors or disclose that information provided by consumers would be used to collect debts. They also allegedly failed to provide required notices identifying the creditor and the amount of the purported debt.
The agency alleges that most consumers either did not owe the purported debts or that the defendants lacked authority to collect or act on them. It describes pressuring people to pay debts they often do not owe as phantom debt collection.
The FTC filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging violations of the FTC Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The court will decide the case.
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