Hello and thank you for the opportunity to assist you. There may be a slight delay between your follow ups and my replies as I am typing out my answer. Please remember that this is general information only, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed.

Absolutely not! Not only is this a complete falsity, claiming to do so is also illegal!

Under the FTCPA, threatening arrest is illegal, as well as claiming legal action that is either not permitted. 15 U.S.C. § 1692e.

See here for a full list of things that they cannot do:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Debt_Collection_Practices_Act#Prohibited_conduct

In fact, this is a civil debt - they cannot file a criminal action due to it.

Every time they make such a claim, that is a $1,000 violation! If they have made such a claim, then you need to contact an attorney for consumer rights:

http://www.nvbar.org/content/lawyer-referral-information-service

...most attorneys will work on contingency in such cases, meaning that they do not get paid unless you do.

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