Texas Couple Charged; Claimed To Be Debt Settlement Firm

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's office has charged a Texas couple with wire fraud for bilking $13,000 from a Mississippi family while claiming to be a debt settlement company.

John Clune, 50, and Monica Clune 44, both of Farmer's Branch, Texas, were charged Thursday on five counts. The couple worked under the business name "A Different Debt Company," which purported to act as an advocate for people dealing with creditors, according to the attorney general's office.

Hood said the Clunes had no intent of assisting the victims with their debt. Jan Schaefer, a spokesperson in Hood's office, said the Clunes worked out of a Texas office but she did not know if the couple has a lawyer and no business listing was available.