Houston Debt Collection Lawyer Hit with $25 Million DTPA Judgment
Joseph Onwuteaku will have to pay millions for violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and has been blocked from collecting against people he sued in Harris County.
July 18, 2017 at 03:00 PM
3 minute read
A Houston debt collection lawyer has been hit with a $25 million judgment after being sued by the Texas Attorney General's Office for filing abusive lawsuits against hundreds of people in Harris County and failing to protect their sensitive information.
The lawyer, Joseph Onwuteaka, is a Houston attorney who owns a debt collection company called Samara Portfolio and uses his own solo law firm to file thousands of debt collection cases, according to the Attorney General's complaint.
The AG's Consumer Protection Division sued Onwuteaka in 2014 in state court alleging violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) by filing lawsuits against hundreds of people in debt collection cases in Harris County — a venue that had no connection to the debtors — in hopes they would not respond to the lawsuits and secure default judgement.
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