Kansas City woman awarded $83m after Portfolio Recovery harassed her

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Maria Guadalupe Mejia said she was sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates for 15 months for a credit card belonging to a man with a similar name
Jury ruled the company was guilty for maliciously prosecuting the mother
Was fined $250,000 for violating Fair Debt and Collection Practices Act and another $82,990,000 in punitive damages
Spokesman for collection agency said award 'defied all common sense'

By Anneta Konstantinides For Dailymail.com

Published: 23:19 EST, 19 May 2015 | Updated: 08:07 EST, 20 May 2015

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A Missouri woman has been awarded $83million after a collection agency sued her for a $1,000 credit card debt she never owed.

Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC was found guilty by a Kansas City jury for maliciously prosecuting Maria Guadalupe Mejia for a debt that actually belonged to a man with a similar name.

The debt buyer was fined $250,000 for violating the Fair Debt and Collection Practices Act and $82,990,000 in punitive damages for malicious prosecution.

Mejia, 51, said that, although she knew she didn't owe the company any money, she was absolutely 'terrified' when she was served the lawsuit in 2013.

Maria Guadalupe Mejia, 51, was awarded $83million after debt collection agency Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC was found guilty of maliciously prosecuting her for a debt she didn't owe

'My husband and I were already struggling just to keep our children fed and the lights on,' she said in a statement obtained by KCUR.

'I feared they would take my house and I feared they would arrest me.'

Mejia, who is currently unemployed after the dry cleaners shop she worked at for 15 years recently closed, said the company sued her for one year and three months for a credit card she had never owned.

Gina Chiala, one of Mejia's lawyers, said the mother broke down in tears after the verdict was read, saying the company 'really scared the heck out of her'.

Chiala said Portfolio Recovery Associates, one of the biggest debt buyers in the country, has a reputation for a 'take no prisoners' approach.

'Among consumer lawyers, they are known to be very aggressive in litigation and to not stop,' she said. 'Even when they're wrong, they're just not going to stop.'

Portfolio Recovery spokesman Michael McKeon said the company dropped the case as soon as it realized Mejia wasn't the debt owner, a claim Chiala denies.

Chiala believes the company was trying to wear them out, keeping the suit going through multiple hearings and failing to comply with several discovery requests in which both parties are meant to exchange evidence.

Last October a judge ruled that Portfolio Recovery had 'acted in bad faith, abused the discovery process and repeatedly violated this Court's discovery orders', the Associated Press reported.

McKeon said the award was 'inappropriate' and 'defied all common sense'.

The debt buyer was fined $250,000 for violating the Fair Debt and Collection Practices Act and $82,990,000 for malicious prosecution

'Any fair reading of the facts of this case makes plain that verdict of this size is not justice by any means, and cannot stand,' he said.

In a recent regulatory filing, the company said the 'magnitude of the award' could hurt the Portfolio Recovery's 'financial condition and/or operations'.

Chiala told the Associated Press she believed the jury was issuing a verdict they thought would get the company's attention, as well as send a message to other debt collection companies.

If the damages amount is upheld, half of the $83million will be deposited in the victims compensation fund at the Missouri Attorney General's office.

The other half would be split between Mejia and her lawyers.

Mejia said she hope the jury's verdict will stop 'Portfolio from doing this to others'.

'I am grateful that my name is totally cleared,' she said. 'And my family and I can move on.'