CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte woman will be forced to pay back nearly all of the $1.9 million she defrauded out of hundreds of victims in North Carolina and across the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Carissa Eugenia Brown was sentenced for the scheme she ran between 2015 and July 2020, the DOJ said Tuesday. Prosecutors accused Brown of contacting individuals with debts and impersonating debt collectors, according to court records. Brown often mailed victims official-looking documents and made "threatening and harassing" messages, according to the DOJ. In her communications, Brown would offer to settle the outstanding debts held by victims, whom she would compel to make immediate payments in return for a lower settlement.
"This resulted in victims being placed in the untenable position of either having to pay their debts twice, or face the financial consequences for failing to pay the true creditor," the DOJ wrote in a statement Tuesday.
Brown used several business names for her scheme, including Accredited Recovery Solutions, LLC (also known as Accredited Recovery Network); Elite Credit Adjusters, LLC (also known as Elite Credit Network); and Martin Recovery Group, LLC (also known as Martin Recovery, P.C. and the Law Office of Martin and Associates).
Brown pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering. She was sentenced to 54 months in prison and will be forced to pay $1,708,920.60 in restitution.