I'm sure others also saw the front page NYT story today. It reports that many prosecutorial offices allow collection agencies to send notices to debtors on the D.A.'s stationery and ostensibly signed by the D.A. threatening prosecution unless a bounced check was paid along with additional sums for a course on budgeting and credit.
The D.A. does not review the claim before the letter is sent or even see the letter.
For every payment, the prosecutor's office gets a small sum.
The prosecutors quoted in the article actually defended the practice. To me it sounds abusive. Also just plain wrong. Unethical? Illegal?