Penalty Amount
$30,000
Consumers Affected
44
Colorado settled with Wakefield & Associates after finding it sought default judgments on medical debt without meeting legal protections, including providing evidence of the debt. The settlement requires Wakefield to vacate judgments against 44 accounts, meet notice and affidavit requirements before seeking new judgments, and pay $30,000 to the state.
Wakefield must vacate default judgments entered against the 44 accounts and may not seek new judgments against those consumers until it provides legally compliant notices and affidavits. It must pay $30,000 to the state and follow the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act going forward.
Review debt collection vendor and servicing agreements, as well as agreements with medical providers that authorize or support collections. Require vendors to verify and retain evidence of each debt, provide legally compliant notices and affidavits before pursuing litigation or default judgments, and obtain approval and documentation before filing. Add representations, audit and record-access rights, consumer complaint escalation, corrective-action obligations, and indemnity for violations of applicable debt collection laws; review customer-facing collection notices and procedures for consistency with those obligations.
Entity
Wakefield & Associates, LLC
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://coag.gov/press-releases/attorney-general-phil-weiser-announces-settlement-with-a-colorado-company-for-unfair-medical-debt-collection-practices/
Wakefield FAO COAG Revision 8 12 26 WA signed68995862
https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2026/09/Wakefield-FAO-COAG-Revision-8-12-26-WA-signed68995862.pdf
Colorado Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://coag.gov/
"Wakefield & Associates, LLC"
"pay $30,000 to the state"
"SB23-093"
"the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act"
"Wakefield improperly filed for default judgment on medical debt against 44 Colorado accounts."
"Wakefield will vacate any default judgments entered against these accounts and cannot move to file new judgments until notices and affidavits compliant with the law are provided to those consumers."
Wakefield & Associates, LLC (Business Associate, TN) reported a HIPAA breach affecting 31,751 individuals. Breach type: Hacking/IT Incident. Location of breached information: Network Server.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in settling a lawsuit against Paramount Skydance Corporation over its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which the states alleged would harm competition by lowering film output and raising prices. The settlement includes a five-year commitment to increase film output, a $1.5 billion investment in domestic production, a $47.5 million worker fund, and an independent monitor. This is an antitrust/competition enforcement action, not a privacy enforcement action, despite the extraction schema's privacy focus.
$30K
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$694.0M
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$150K
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$152K
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