Legal gun owner slammed to ground by 7 agents over $1,500 30 year old debt

[pacapcop]

My question is, where is the IRS enforcement on these matters instead of the Marshals service. If he's evading, they simply can go for assets to get his attention. Gun business for 1500.00 bucks, really. And yes, gov't should not be in the loan business. here is the prudent matter to get payment.

1. Tax Refunds Offset by gov't.
2. Paycheck garnished.
3. Federal benefits taken.
4. Getting sued.

[4949shooter]

sqlbullet, you are spot on. This is disgraceful and needs to stop. Marshals are NOT IRS agents. This is what happens when agents of the state cannot say no to immoral orders. And yes in this matter, it's criminal. They could garnish wages instead of strong arm tactics. 

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

Upton Sinclair

But 4949shooter said in another thread that "State Troopers are just regular people like all of us. They aren't the KGB ..."

OK technically it wasn't the State Troopers, but they were government law enforcement.


.

Stop quoting me out of context please.

Thanks in advance.

[pacapcop]

Student loans are a civil matter period.

[will965]

He was arrested because a bench warrant was issued for contempt due to his failure to appear for previous summons.

Here is what is curious to me.  Generally such summons are delivered via certified mail with return receipt, or more commonly by an officer of the court.  When I was in college I served a number of summons, and there was never any doubt the person was served.  So either Mr. Aker is lying when he said he had received no previous notice, or the plaintiff's counsel has mis-represented the facts to the court to generate the bench warrant.

Of the two, I would bet Mr. Aker did receive notice, and that evidence of service was provided to the court.

Also, listening to his interview, he doesn't indicate, that I have heard, that he was slammed to the ground.  They did cuff him for transport, but that is SOP.  I think alot of this is sensationalist journalism blowing it out of proportion.

However, the government should get OUT of the student loan business.

now dont be bringing in logic and reasoning here dammit! we still need time to bash law enforcement for a while especially when we dont understand anything about it...even if we dont understand that the US Marhsals Service is tasked(in most major jurisdictions task forces comprised of several agencies including but not limited to local, state and federal including dea,atf,fbi and irs and sometimes dhs) with the apprehension of wanted subjects on both federal and state warrants. Like he said, he never claimed to be harmed or ruffed up but only handcuffed. Believe me if he was, he woulda been on every news channel screaming police brutality..handcuffs are SOP for any person with a warrant or under arrest and placed in a transport vehicle. The news LOVES a chance to make anything concerning law enforcement a BIG STORY! truth or not, really not a concern to them. he could have been, and probably was, delinquent for years on his notices of payment, never showed for court and ignored several subpeonas and/or notices..I have seen these things go the other way when the guy shows up to court and they get like $50.00 dollars and set up a long payment plan depending on his financial situation... most likely it was a gov loan...and their first action is not arrest..im sorry i was raised to pay what you owe...please dont let the news feed you with out tasting the crap they are serving..sorry(punches self in face knocking off the soapbox).ARMED agents with combat gear and automatic weapons?? really,lol.....be safe gents

[sqlbullet]

Student loans are a civil matter.

However, since the US Marshalls enforce orders to appear and bench warrants in federal court for both civil and criminal proceedings, if you ignore a summons, they will appear on your doorstep.

[Blades]

I wonder who is next? What person with a old, old student loan will be walking out their front door into the welcoming arms of the US Marshall's? I bet there are a few doctors and lawyers that still owe money.

[tommac919]

Me thinks it mostly a pumped up story... playing afternoon qb.

First he knew something was up; "He said he noticed a suspicious truck in front of his house on Thursday morning, and when someone approached, he ran back into the house. Later that morning, a bunch of armed Marshals with combat weapons showed up at his door."

With above, Wouldn't the normal person call the police So as prev mentioned, he was prob notified and prob had a warrant/notice to appear. ( and they didn't break down the door to my knowledge as it's not mentioned, he prob opened the door and they grabbed him )

As to in NY, the Marshall's office does enforce court label proceedings like evictions, debts, etc.  .... so i can see them showing up at the door. ( I've watch evictions done and it's interesting to watch how it goes down )

[pacapcop]

Discussed this incident with Co worker today. His son was in the hole for 4800.00 on a loan for Tech school. Did his taxes, WAS to get back 5200.00. Well he received 400.00. No arrests, knocks on door, guns etc. He was 5yrs back. This isn't about law enforcement bashing, but a very dangerous way to settle a bill/debt. The government is contracting out student loans collections to private debt collectors who are allowed to deploy US Marshals as their enforcement arm. Let the I.R.S handle the enforcement.
S

[will965]

US MARSHALS statement

It is the responsibility of the U.S. Marshals to serve civil processes at direction of the federal courts. These civil processes include summonses for individuals to appear in court to address delinquent federal loans, including student, agricultural and other loans made by federal agencies.

Since November 2012, U.S. Marshals had made several attempts to serve a show cause order to Paul Aker to appear in federal court, including searching at numerous known addresses. Marshals spoke with Aker by phone and requested he appear in court, but Aker refused. A federal judge then issued a warrant for Aker's arrest for failing to appear at a December 14, 2012, hearing.

On Thursday, February 11, 2016, two Deputy US Marshals made contact with Aker outside of his residence. When they attempted to arrest him, Aker resisted arrest and retreated back into his home. The situation escalated when Aker verbally said to the deputies that he had a gun. After Aker made the statement that he was armed, in order to protect everyone involved, the deputies requested additional law enforcement assistance. Additional deputy marshals and local law enforcement officers responded to the scene. After approximately two hours, the law enforcement officers convinced Aker to peacefully exit his home, and he was arrested without further incident."

Sounds a whole lot more feasible than the " I heard a knock on the door and then out of the blue several armed combat men stormed me and threw me on the ground and placed me under arrest for no reason and no warning.. ..

[sqlbullet]

yep.

[4949shooter]

There is usually more to the story..

[DM1906]

There is usually more to the story..

Always.

In this case, the headline is misleading (a lie), as is most of the original story. The only truth first reported was, there was a 30 year old loan debt, and he may have been a legal gun owner. He wasn't arrested for the debt, and he wasn't "slammed to the ground by 7 agents". Nothing more than sensationalization by the media. Regardless of the original reason, traffic ticket or whatever, if you FTA, they're gonna come for you. The court says you will (it isn't a request). If they know you are armed, they'll probably do it more cautiously. I would. From what I could glean from the "stories" is, they suspected he was armed because he stated so when they were at the door. That would cause me to elevate the level of caution, without a doubt. If it were a threatening statement, he might even get "slammed to the ground". I don't know anything about NY Daily News, but it seems they were a bit less than ethical. In my opinion, of course.

[cwo4uscgret]

Something didn't set right for me when I read the story so I did some digging around on the web.  I suspected there was more to the story and of course there is; always is!  I did some "google_Foo" and found this interesting tidbit from the Washington Post:

For a hot second, people were panicking after a Houston television station reported that a resident there, Paul Aker, had been arrested because he owed $1,500 for a federal student loan he took out in 1987.

"What's the worst that can happen to you if you don't pay your old federal student loans?" the anchor asked as he began the segment. "Garnishment? Something on your credit report? Or how about being arrested by the U.S. Marshal's Office?"

Aker, who appeared on the newscast, was astounded. "Why are the marshals knocking on my door? It's amazing."

Public outrage ensued.

But as I watched a video of the interview, something didn't seem right.

I've been reporting on debt collection for decades, and never had I heard about people being arrested just because they hadn't paid their student loans. People get their wages garnished. Their credit scores are decimated. But arrested?

I immediately thought that unscrupulous debt collectors must be jumping for joy: They could use Aker's plight to pressure people into paying debts they didn't owe or to scare others that they, too, would be arrested and hauled off to jail.

Just recently, the Federal Trade Commission slammed four debt-collection outfits and their affiliates, which the agency said engaged in abusive practices, including impersonating law enforcement officials and threatening to arrest people.

Well, thank goodness there was more to Aker's story. And there are two lessons to be learned.

First, there is no need to panic: You cannot be arrested simply for defaulting on your federal loans.

"If anyone out there thinks that it is the top priority of the U.S. Marshal's Service to arrest student-loan violators, they are sadly mistaken," Richard Hunter, chief deputy U.S. marshal for the southern district of Texas, told me in an interview.

Marshals had made several attempts to contact Aker to appear in federal court, according to Hunter. Notices were sent to numerous known addresses. Marshals spoke with Aker by phone and requested that he appear in court, but Aker refused, a statement from officials said. So a federal judge issued a warrant for Aker's arrest for failing to appear at a December 2012 hearing.

"A big misconception is people are being arrested for not paying their loans, when in fact they are being arrested for failure to appear in court," Hunter said. "At the point the U.S. marshals show up at your door, there have been months — perhaps many years — of notices, summons, et cetera, issued."

Here comes the second lesson in this story.

During the Houston news broadcast, Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.) asked Aker whether he had been notified by anyone ahead of time about the state of his loan. "You didn't receive any kind of notice?" Green asked. "No certified mail? Nobody coming out saying, 'This is the debt you owe?'?"

"Nothing in almost 30 years," Aker said.

We now know from court records dating to 2007 that Aker had indeed been contacted about the debt. A default judgment was entered for $2,709.47. But more to the point, even if he hadn't been served about the loan, he is ultimately accountable for keeping track of how much he borrowed. It's your responsibility to know what you owe. If you move, let your lenders know. If you haven't been receiving bills, call and find out why.

"The key to all of this is communication," Hunter said. "If you have a loan that you're behind on, call the Department of Education and get a deferment or request a payment plan. If you have received a court summons, by all means communicate with the court. If you choose not to, at some point the federal judge handling your matter may order the U.S. marshals to bring you to court."