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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Massive Service Frauds Alleged in NY

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CN) - A woman who says a law firm and process server lied about serving her with a collections complaint claims that "nearly 100,000 default judgments have been entered in the New York Courts based upon false affidavits from process servers working for defendant ALP [American Legal Process]."

Margaret Murtagh says that in July the New York attorney general sued 35 law firms that used American Legal Process because "nearly 100,000 default judgments have been entered in the New York Courts based upon false affidavits from process servers" working for it.

Murtagh claims she was a victim of identity theft in 2004 and found unauthorized charges on her American Express card. She says AmEx refused to remove all the disputed charges and hired Zwicker & Associates to collect.

Murtagh says Zwicker is one of the law firms that was sued for working with ALP; she claims it falsified an affidavit of service to obtain a default judgment against her.

Zwicker attorney Andrew Dick knew the firm was being investigated for fraudulent activities, but he still contested Murtagh's motion to dismiss the judgment and filed an affirmation that its affidavit of service was valid, according to the complaint.

And she says ALP president William Singler was indicted in April for orchestrating the firm's fraudulent activities.

ALP is based in Garden City, N.Y. Murtagh demands damages from Zwicker, Dick, ALP, Singler and ALP employee Gene Gagliardi, alleging malicious prosecution, unfair business practices, negligence and defamation. She is represented in Westchester County Court by John Murtagh of Yonkers.

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