By DAVID B. CARUSO

NEW YORK (AP) — State authorities have shut down a collection agency they said terrified people across the country into paying debts by telling them if they didn’t send money immediately, they would be thrown in jail.

Investigators said collectors working for the Buffalo company routinely posed as law enforcement officials in an attempt to trick people into thinking they were about to be arrested.

During one call recorded by a debtor, a man who vaguely identified himself as an investigator from “the warrant division” said one victim was about to be “picked up.”

“Make sure you have somewhere for your kids to go. Lock up your house. Get some clean clothes, because you’re not coming home anytime soon,” the caller said. (more…)