MEMPHIS, TN -- A private child support agency that collects money from Memphis parents has landed itself in Federal Court. Child Support Services of Atlanta was sued by the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS says the company is using the mail in a scheme to illegally collect money.
The suit claims the company sent letters to the employers of parents who were divorced and living apart from their children. According to the court document, the paperwork sent to the businesses looked like it came from official state agencies.
Mitch Morgan, the former child support services director in Shelby County, says “Everything looks legit. For the most part employers would not be able to tell the difference.”
Morgan was not surprised to learn about the lawsuit. He says many times these companies illegally garnish parents’ wages. Morgan says “These private companies have no authority to issue income assignments. It is illegal to do so.”
The USPS says the company in question uses threats and intimidates non-custodial parents to collect money and went to fraudulent lengths to hide the fact it was a private business. The lawsuit also says when Child Support Services of Atlanta collected the money, the company kept it.
We were unable to reach Child Support Services of Atlanta for a comment.
