Minnesota Dept. of Commerce Suspends Collection Agency?s License

The Minnesota Department of Commerce Thursday said that it had temporarily suspended the collection agency license of Bloomington, Minn.-based International Collection Services (ICS) for allegedly withholding clients’ money that it had collected.

In a press release, the Commerce office said that ICS had failed to remit its clients’ money within 30 days of collection, as required by state law. The Department of Commerce alleged that ICS used the cash to fund operations.

"Consumers have an expectation that when a collection agency collects your money to pay a bill, they actually pay the creditor on your behalf, not spend the money on their own bills," said Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Glenn Wilson in a press release. "When a breech of trust like this occurs, we suspend the license and shut down the agency."

Commerce said that it executed a search warrant with the Bloomington Police Department Tuesday to obtain financial records at the ICS office. Authorities claim that a search warrant was necessary because ICS refused to grant access to its records, another violation of state law.

Attempts to contact ICS were unsuccessful.

The department said it received complaints from two out-of-state clients of ICS alleging they had not received money owed to them after ICS had collected on accounts due. Based on the complaints, investigators conducted an audit of the company’s trust accounts and allege that ICS has misappropriated over $125,000 from clients within the past three years.

The company allegedly used the money to pay for operating expenses.

A hearing is scheduled for June 29 to consider making the license suspension permanent.

Editor’s Note: ICS is not affiliated in any way with major ARM firm I.C. System, Inc., headquartered in St. Paul, Minn.