Mike Knight

Amount Owed: $112,360

Charged for: $44,550 in taxes he’d already paid

In 2013, Oklahoma restaurant manager Knight, was billed $112,000 over sales tax for a business he used to own. Less than half of the bill was for taxes he already paid in 2004. The rest was for government interest and Linebarger’s collection fees. But his bank no longer had his proof of payment, so it took months and $800 in legal fees to convince Linebarger he had paid his taxes. “I was guilty until proven innocent … I didn’t know if I would go to jail [or] if they would take my house,” he said. “I think I’ll have [the papers with proof of payment] buried with me.” The Oklahoma Tax Commission wouldn’t comment about Knight’s specific case, but it said it has improved its system to make it easier for taxpayers to dispute bills.

Jose Iraheta

Amount Owed: $10,553

Charged for: Property taxes while serving overseas

While serving overseas in 2007, Air Force Major Iraheta was sued by Linebarger over unpaid property taxes for his Texas home on behalf of Harris County. Because Texas law allows active duty military to delay paying property taxes without penalty until returning home, he knew something was wrong. He was so angry he filed a counter-suit, which has cost thousands of dollars in court fees and travel expenses. Linebarger dropped its original lawsuit against him, but Iraheta has no plans of dropping his. “The rights we give to military men and women shouldn’t be taken lightly,” he said. His case is ongoing. The Harris County Tax Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Jesse Franklin

Amount Owed: $239

Charged for: Driving without a seatbelt in a place he’d never been

Franklin, a retired Navy veteran from Georgia, was sent a notice from Linebarger that there was a warrant out for his arrest because he owed nearly $240 for a seatbelt citation in Brownsville, Texas. But Franklin hadn’t driven in years and had never been to Brownsville. He said trying to correct the mistake with Linebarger was like "running into a stone wall” and the process went on for months. It wasn’t until the county dismissed his ticket that Linebarger acknowledged it was a mistake. "I have lost time [and] money and agonized over this,” said Franklin. Cameron County, the agency Linebarger was working for, did not respond to a request for comment.

Jane Lopez

Amount Owed: $6,195

Charged for: The fire department putting out a fire at a property she didn't own

Lopez spent a year battling Linebarger over a $6,200 bill for a time when Chicago firefighters had put out a fire at a property she no longer owned. What made the situation even more frustrating was that it turned out the fire hadn’t even occurred at her building -- it was a place next door. Convinced it was a scam, she warned others about the firm on RipoffReport.com. And when she learned the firm was legitimate, she was even more scared. "I was terrified, thinking 'Oh my God, they're gonna sue me,'" she said. "I was a nervous wreck for almost 11 months." The City of Chicago did not respond to requests for comment, and Lopez says she hasn't heard anything since sending Linebarger a photo of the property in February.

Laverne Dobbinson

Amount Owed: $710

Charged for: Damage to a police car that
killed her son

Several months after her 27-year-old son was struck and killed by a New York City police car, Dobbinson received a letter from Linebarger that made a terrible situation even worse. The letter, which was addressed to her deceased son, demanded the payment of $710 in damages to the police car that had hit him. “It just blew my mind that they wanted to charge me for the police car that actually killed my son,” she said. The New York City Law Department did not respond to a request for comment, but at the time of the incident the city acknowledged the letter was sent in error and said it regretted the mistake.

Marco Rangel

Amount Owed: $700

Charged for: Failing to pay $10 in toll charges, setting off a home security alarm

Threatened with the loss of his driver's license, Rangel said he paid more than $400 to settle around $10 in toll charges with Linebarger. “They kept piling on and adding fees,” said Rangel, a former debt collector himself. Late last year, he received another letter from the firm. Representing the county sheriff’s office, Linebarger demanded nearly $300 for unpaid false alarm fees -- from when his kids accidently set off their home’s security alarm. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said this bill was related to multiple false alarm incidents and associated late fees, while toll authority did not comment on Rangel’s situation.