Niagara Falls woman sentenced for role in scheme that stole over $2M from victims

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A Niagara Falls woman was sentenced to almost two years in prison for her role in a debt collection scheme that stole over $2 million from various victims, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.

Between January 2014 and February 2017, 37-year-old Erica Lounsberry worked as a manager for numerous supposed debt collection agencies, including Lakeside Meditations, Lincoln Mediation, Valentine Legal Meditation, First Point Meditation, State Filing and Legal Services, and Elite Services.

Lounsberry trained employees to place thousands of calls to "debtors" across the country. The calls falsely claimed that the "debtors" would be arrested and would face criminal charges if they did not make their payments.

Victims were then directed to employees posing as attorneys to pay off and settle their debts.

Between February 2015 and December 2016, Lounsberry and her employees collected around $2,103,105. They collected the payments, often from the same victims, through MoneyGram payments, bank wire transfers and debit and credit card payments.

She was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.