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Tonawanda man accused of extracting over $3M from victims in debt collection scheme

Katie Skoog
1 min read

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Tonawanda man was sentenced Tuesday to serve three years and one month in prison after he allegedly took over $3 million from victims in a debt collection scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Joseph Ciffa, 56, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

Officials said Ciffa was involved in a debt collection business since at least 2013. Since 2015, he allegedly ran and conspired with others to run an illegitimate debt collection businesses. He operated out of Niagara Falls, Kenmore and his home office on Grand Island, authorities said.

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According to the attorney’s office, the operation used fraudulent means to collect debts, recollect on debts already collected, over collect on debts actually owed, and process and transfer payments related to the collection of the debts.

The debt collectors allegedly made threatening statements on the phone to debtors to try and obtain the payment of debts, which include reference to criminal statutes and filing of criminal complaints and warrants, officials said.

Debtors allegedly routed calls from employees who pretended to be attorneys to try and obtain payment.

From January 2015 to December 2016, Ciffa’s operation collected $3,061,205 from victims, officials said. He also allegedly filed a false tax return for 2015 by underreporting his business income, which resulted in avoiding a tax liability of $15,651.

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In 2016, he committed fraud involving Medicaid benefits, officials said, to receive benefits for himself and his children.

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Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here.

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