Attorney General McGraw Recovers $7.9 Million for West Virginians from NJ Lawyer Hecker and APM Collection Agencies

CHARLESTON - West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw today announced a settlement with Laurence A. Hecker, a New Jersey lawyer, and several out-of-state debt collection agencies that Hecker represents known as the APM Companies resulting in more than $7.9 million dollars in cancelled debts for West Virginians.

McGraw's Consumer Protection Division entered into an agreement with Hecker and his two affiliated Pennsylvania collection agencies, APM Financial Solutions, LLC, and Account Portfolio Management, LLC. The settlement requires the cancellation of $7.9 million dollars in charged-off credit card debt that Hecker and the APM Companies attempted to collect from 1,922 West Virginia consumers. The companies also paid $45,000 toward customer refunds and consumer education and agreed to delete the debts from credit records.