Mission man accused of collection theft

Nov. 28--EDINBURG -- Hidalgo County authorities are prosecuting the former head of a Houston-area collection agency -- that operates mostly in the Rio Grande Valley -- on two counts of theft after they say he collected outstanding debts for clients but pocketed the money himself.

McAllen mechanic Lino Luna said an employee of the collection agency Fletcher, Goldman and Ross approached him in early 2012, offering to collect debts on behalf of Luna's company, Lino's Automatic Transmission Service.

"His company called me out of the blue and they wanted to know about any invoices I hadn't collected on and this and that," Luna said by phone Tuesday.

The agency acquired a payment from a construction company from which Luna had had trouble collecting, but then cashed the check themselves rather than sending it on to Luna. Luna never paid the company anything.

Luna provided The Monitor with a series of emails, one of which showed a check from the construction agency to Fletcher, Goldman and Ross for $3,925 with the memo line "Linos Automatic Transmission," that the collection agency deposited June 21.

He's tried again to get the payment from the construction company with an outstanding invoice, but to no avail.

"They say they already paid me," he said. "So I'm out $4,000, almost."

TRAVIS DUBCAK

In November 2008, Travis Dubcak, a then-35-year-old man from Mississippi, registered Fletcher, Goldmen (sic) & Ross, Inc. with the Texas Secretary of State. The company is registered in Pasadena, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

Edinburg police arrested Dubcak -- who, according to court records, lives in Mission -- Aug. 12 of this year on suspicion of two counts of theft of between $1,500 and $20,000, a state jail felony.

He pleaded not guilty to both counts in state district court Nov. 20.

Both Luna and Edinburg attorney Raul Guajardo -- the other former Dubcak client who filed a criminal complaint -- said Dubcak ran the business and was the person they dealt with directly.

"He was in charge down here," Luna said.

Guajardo accused Dubcak of collecting three outstanding debts totaling more than $12,000 for him, but never giving him the money.

Edinburg police records state Dubcak used the name Jay Fletcher -- the name of the person with whom Luna emailed -- as an alias.

Dubcak's lawyer, Sergio J. Sanchez, said Dubcak has never used an alias.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Dubcak said he voluntarily left the company and referred all other questions to Sanchez. The attorney said Dubcak started the company in 2008 but dissolved it in September for "personal reasons."

The business, however, seems to still be operational.

A male employee answered several phone calls to the number listed on the company's website, fgandr.com.

Alongside Houston and Dallas locations, the website -- which is still active -- lists 5500 N. McColl Road Suite 99 as the McAllen location.

Buildings near that addresses house several businesses -- including a barbershop, a flower shop and an insurance office -- but "Suite 99" did not appear to exist. A woman checking a mailbox at the location said she was with Fletcher, Goldman and Ross but declined further comment, referring again to Sanchez.

Secretary of State records show the state revoked the business' charter in August 2009 for failing to pay taxes before reinstating it about two years later.

'ACCOUNTING ERRORS'

Sanchez attributed the situation between Dubcak and Lino and Guajardo to accounting errors. He said Dubcak -- who he said is now self-employed, though he could not be more specific about his employment -- would be happy to compensate the two complainants.

"Mr. Dubcak was planning on complying with any civil order to repay any debts which are owed," Sanchez said, adding the complainants previously brought a civil suit for the same damages. Guajardo denied ever suing in civil court. No record of a civil case between those parties exists in a state database.

Guajardo said Dubcak had reached out to him about the time he became aware of the Edinburg police investigation. But Guajardo was wary to make a deal, "Because he already stole from me," he said. "I cannot trust a thief."

Both Lino and Guarjardo said they supplied Dubcak with accounts on which they never expected to be paid.

"I thought it would be difficult for that gentleman to collect the money for the accounts that I gave him," Guajardo said. But since the debtors did pay someone, he believes the money should be his.

Similarly, Lino was surprised by the collector's abilities.

"They didn't listen to me," he said of his debtor. "But they sent a check to him."

Dubcak's trial is set to begin Dec. 9 in the 206th state District Court.

jfischler@themonitor.com

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