AG Says State’s Largest Debt Collector Will Pay $1 Million in Restitution

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey says the state's largest debt collection firm will pay $1 million in restitution for what her office calls "widespread consumer abuses.''

Healey said Thursday that under a court settlement Lustig, Glaser & Wilson has also agreed to make significant changes to its debt collection practices.

Healey says the consent judgement alleges the firm routinely filed lawsuits against thousands of Massachusetts residents for debts that were incorrect or not owed at all.

Under the settlement, the firm will pay $1 million to the attorney general's office, which said it would distribute the restitution among impacted consumers.

Kenneth Wilson, a principal in the company, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

Wilson told The Boston Globe the firm did not admit to wrongdoing in the settlement.