FH Cann & Associates, Inc. v. McKinney (D. Mass. 20-cv-11180).

Debt collection company FH Cann filed an additional lawsuit in which a debtor, Carlos McKinney, has claimed copyright infringement for Cann’s use of his name in its collection efforts. McKinney filed a notice of dispute that demanded a number of things from Cann that the complaint contends are not required by law, such as additional documentation and verification under oath that the claims are valid. This demand included language stating that Cann’s failure to provide the demanded information within 30 days would result in a waiver of Cann’s right to collect the debt, which Cann contends is not valid. The demand includes a statement that McKinney declares “under penalty of perjury without the United States that the above statements are the truth…” (emphasis added). Finally, the demand included an invoice for $500,000 for the alleged breach of McKinney’s common law copyright in his name., and to authorize McKinney to file a UCC-1 Financing Statement asserting a lien for that amount on Cann’s assets. This document purported to be notarized in Georgia, but Cann asserts that the alleged notary is not licensed in Georgia and that the notarization is fraudulent. Cann seeks declaratory and injunctive relief as well as damages for tortious interference with business relations.
While it seems unlikely for two such claims to arise in such a short period of time, Cann asserts that the documents provided by McKinney evidence a “number of fraudulent theories circulating on the internet and by various militia and ‘sovereign nation’ groups” to avoid debt collection and defraud creditors. This case is before Judge Saylor.