Collection officer changes costume to collect

A debt collector for a short term loan operation in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, faces gun charges after he impersonated a sheriff's deputy in order to obtain outstanding debt, WZVN-TV reports. Angel Rosado, a debt collector at Cash Plus, was able to obtain a Collier County sheriff's hat, holster and gun, and proceeded to confront a debtor who allegedly owed $180. He threatened to arrest the victim and pretended to have a warrant. "He's not supposed to be doing that," Cash Plus manager Deborah Gittes told the media outlet. "(Collectors) go to (debtors') place of work or their home and they tell them they owe this and hopefully put them on some sort of payment plan." Gittes noted that Rosado originally "presented himself as a legit collector" and Cash Plus was unaware that he intended to act outside of the law. According to the website for the Consumer Litigation Group, a provision within the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act states that if a creditor pretends to be a third-party debt collector, FDCPA penalties may apply. Rosado, a previously convicted felon, was immediately fired following the incident and faces charges for illegally carrying a gun.