CS-2026-00049 - Midland Credit Management, Inc. v. Velda Vandergriff

What's This Case About?

Let’s get one thing straight: nobody wakes up one morning and says, “You know what I want? To be sued by a debt collector for $3,354 over a credit card they haven’t touched in years.” But that’s exactly what happened to Velda Vandergriff of Hughes County, Oklahoma, who just got served with a lawsuit from a company she’s never heard of, over two credit cards she may or may not have used—now owned by a third-party debt collector that bought the debt for pennies on the dollar and is now demanding full payment like it’s a parking ticket with a personal vendetta.

Here’s the cast of characters: on one side, we’ve got Velda Vandergriff—real person, real Oklahoman, probably just trying to survive another Midwest winter without her furnace breaking down. On the other? Midland Credit Management, Inc., a debt collection giant headquartered in San Diego that buys up defaulted credit card accounts like they’re clearance bin toys after Christmas. These guys don’t issue credit cards—they buy the ghosts of them, long after banks like Comenity Capital Bank and Capital One have written them off as lost causes. Then, armed with spreadsheets and a fleet of attorneys, they swoop in like financial vultures, filing lawsuits in counties across the country with the precision of a corporate algorithm. And in this case, their legal muscle comes courtesy of LOVE, BEAL & NIXON, P.C.—yes, that’s really the law firm’s name—based in Oklahoma City, because apparently, even debt collection lawyers need a little romance in their professional lives.

So what actually went down? Well, according to the court filing, Velda allegedly opened two credit cards years ago: one with Comenity Capital Bank (the kind of store card you get while impulsively buying a new mattress or a $200 bathrobe at a department store), and another with Capital One, likely the “Platinum Mastercard” variety that promises zero interest for 18 months and then haunts you like a cursed object. The Comenity account was opened back in January 2021—so relatively recently—while the Capital One card dates all the way back to July 2018, which, in credit card years, is basically ancient history. Payments were made. Life happened. Then, somewhere along the line, the payments stopped.

The Comenity card was last paid on April 11, 2022. The Capital One card saw its final transaction on January 13, 2023. After that? Silence. Both accounts were eventually “charged off”—accounting speak for “we’ve given up and declared this a loss”—with Comenity doing so in January 2023 and Capital One following suit in August of that same year. That’s when the real fun began. Because once a debt is charged off, it doesn’t disappear. Oh no. It gets sold. And Midland Credit Management bought both of Velda’s accounts—Comenity’s in February 2023, Capital One’s more than a year later in October 2024—becoming the proud new owner of her financial regrets.

Now, Midland didn’t just stumble into this. They brought paperwork. Oh, did they bring paperwork. Enter William Hebert Prahl, Legal Specialist at Midland’s Minnesota office, who signed not one, but two nearly identical affidavits swearing under penalty of perjury that—based on electronic records he has “reviewed” and “personal knowledge” of Midland’s internal systems—Velda owes $444.62 on the Comenity account and $2,909.38 on the Capital One one. That’s a grand total of $3,354, plus interest, court costs, and whatever emotional toll it takes to be legally pursued by a company that didn’t lend you a dime.

Why are they in court? Simple: Midland wants a judgment. And in plain English, that means they want a judge to officially declare, “Yes, Velda Vandergriff owes this money,” so they can potentially garnish wages, freeze bank accounts, or just add this case to their quarterly profit report. The legal claim? “Indebtedness”—a fancy way of saying, “She borrowed money and didn’t pay it back.” But here’s the twist: Midland isn’t the original lender. They’re a debt buyer. They didn’t issue the cards. They didn’t approve the credit lines. They bought the debt for a fraction of its face value—maybe 3 or 4 cents on the dollar—and now they’re suing for 100%. That’s the business model: buy cheap, sue big, profit in the middle. And they do it thousands of times a year.

Now, is $3,354 a lot? Depends on who you ask. To a Wall Street hedge fund trading distressed debt, it’s a rounding error. To Midland’s legal team, it’s another line item on a boilerplate petition drafted by a paralegal and filed en masse across Oklahoma counties. But to Velda Vandergriff—a regular person in a rural part of the state where the median income hovers around $40,000? Yeah, that’s a car repair. That’s six months of electric bills. That’s a lot of groceries. And the kicker? She may not even remember these accounts. She might not have the statements. She might not have known the debt was sold. And now, nearly three years after her last payment, she’s being dragged into court by a company from Minnesota, represented by lawyers from Oklahoma City, over a debt that’s changed hands more times than a dollar bill at a truck stop.

Our take? The most absurd part isn’t even the lawsuit itself—it’s the sheer machine behind it. One guy in Minnesota signs two affidavits—without ever meeting Velda, without seeing an original contract, based solely on “electronic records” from a system he didn’t build—swearing under oath that she owes this money. And the court is supposed to take that at face value? Meanwhile, Midland files hundreds of these cases a month, each one identical, each one powered by the same affidavit template, the same law firm, the same hope that most people won’t show up to defend themselves. It’s not justice. It’s debt collection industrialized.

Do we think Velda racked up some credit card debt and ghosted it? Probably. But do we also think the system is rigged in favor of deep-pocketed debt buyers who weaponize the courts like a collections tool? Absolutely. So if Velda shows up, fights back, and forces Midland to actually prove they own the debt—and that the amount is correct—we’re rooting for her like she’s the underdog in a legal David vs. Goliath showdown. Because sometimes, the most revolutionary thing an ordinary person can do is simply answer the door when the process server knocks.

Case Overview

Petition

Jurisdiction

District Court of Hughes County, Oklahoma

Filing Attorney

William L. Nixon, Jr.

LOVE, BEAL & NIXON, P.C.

Relief Sought

$3,354 Monetary

Plaintiffs

Midland Credit Management, Inc. business
Rep: LOVE, BEAL & NIXON, P.C.

Defendants

Velda Vandergriff individual

Claims

#	Cause of Action	Description
1	indebtedness	allegations of debt
2	indebtedness	allegations of debt

Petition Text

1,203 words

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF HUGHES COUNTY STATE OF OKLAHOMA Midland Credit Management, Inc. Plaintiff, vs. Velda Vandergriff, Defendant. PETITION FOR INDEBTEDNESS COMES NOW Plaintiff, by and through its undersigned attorneys who hereby enter their appearance herein, and for cause of action against Defendant alleges and states: COUNT 1 1. COMENITY CAPITAL BANK, provided credit to the defendant on account number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX9490. Defendant defaulted on the obligation. The account has been assigned to Plaintiff. 2. Defendant owes Plaintiff $444.62. An Affidavit of Account is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. COUNT 2 1. CAPITAL ONE, N.A., provided credit to the defendant on account number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX5830. Defendant defaulted on the obligation. The account has been assigned to Plaintiff. 2. Defendant owes Plaintiff $2,909.38. An Affidavit of Account is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for Judgment against the Defendant in the sum of $3,354.00, with interest at the statutory rate, all court costs, and for such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper. William L. Nixon, Jr., #012804 Harley L. Homjak, #019736 Gracelyn Porras Dillingham, #35852 Jenifer A. Gani, #021876 Daniela Westfahl, #36242 Mariah S. Ellicott, #36309 Benjamin F. Brackett, #36580 LOVE, BEAL & NIXON, P.C. Attorney for Plaintiff P.O. Box 32738 Oklahoma City, OK 73123 Telephone: 405-720-0565 E-Mail: [email protected] STATE OF OKLAHOMA Midland Credit Management, Inc, Plaintiff -vs- Vandergriff, Velda, Defendant(s). AFFIDAVIT OF WILLIAM HEBERT PRAHL William Hebert Prahl, whose business address is 600 W. Saint Germain St Suite 200, St. Cloud, MN 56301-3616, certifies and says: 1. I am employed as a Legal Specialist and have access to pertinent account records for Midland Credit Management, Inc. ("Plaintiff" or "MCM"). I am a competent person over eighteen years of age, and make the statements herein based upon personal knowledge of those account records maintained by Plaintiff. Plaintiff is the current owner of, and was assigned all the rights, title and interest to Defendant's COMENITY CAPITAL BANK/ULTAMATE REWARDS account XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX9490 (MCM Number 320639705) (hereinafter "the Account"). 2. I have access to and have reviewed the electronic records pertaining to the Account maintained by MCM and am authorized to make this affidavit on MCM's behalf. The electronic records reviewed consist of (i) data and records acquired from the seller or assignor when MCM purchased or was assigned the Account, which were incorporated into MCM's business records upon purchase or assignment, and (ii) data and records generated by MCM in connection with servicing the Account since the date the Account was purchased by or was assigned to MCM. 3. I am familiar with and trained on the manner and method by which MCM creates and maintains its business records pertaining to the Account, which consist of (i) data and documents acquired from the seller or assignor, and (ii) subsequent collection and/or servicing activities by MCM. The records are acquired or created, and are kept in the regular course of MCM's business. It was in the regular course of MCM's business for a person with knowledge of the subsequent collection and/or servicing activities recorded, and a business duty to report, to make the record or data compilation, or to transmit information thereof to be included in such record, or for such information to be posted in MCM's records by a computer or similar digital means. In the regular course of MCM's business, the record or compilation of the subsequent collection activities is made at or near the time of the act or event by MCM as a regular practice. 4. MCM's records show that Defendant(s) owed a balance of $444.62 as of 2025-12-12. 5. On or about 2023-02-22, Midland Credit Management, Inc became the successor in interest to this Account. 6. MCM's records show that: 1) the Account was opened on 2021-01-31; 2) the last payment posted to the Account on 2022-04-11; and 3) the Account was charged off on 2023-01-31. 7. If called to testify as a witness thereon, I could and would competently testify as to all the facts stated herein. LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct. JAN 05 2026 Date STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF STEARNS Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on by William Hebert Prahl. William Hebert Prahl JAN 05 2026 Julie A Klimmes Notary Public - Minnesota My Commission Expires 01/31/2024 OK038 STATE OF OKLAHOMA Midland Credit Management, Inc, Plaintiff -vs- Anderson, Velda V, Defendant(s). AFFIDAVIT OF WILLIAM HEBERT PRAHL William Hebert Prahl, whose business address is 600 W. Saint Germain St Suite 200, St. Cloud, MN 56301-3616, certifies and says: 1. I am employed as a Legal Specialist and have access to pertinent account records for Midland Credit Management, Inc. ("Plaintiff" or "MCM"). I am a competent person over eighteen years of age, and make the statements herein based upon personal knowledge of those account records maintained by Plaintiff. Plaintiff is the current owner of, and was assigned all the rights, title and interest to Defendant's CAPITAL ONE, N.A./PLATINUM MASTERCARD account XXXXXXXXXXXXXX5830 (MCM Number 329828302) (hereinafter "the Account"). 2. I have access to and have reviewed the electronic records pertaining to the Account maintained by MCM and am authorized to make this affidavit on MCM's behalf. The electronic records reviewed consist of (i) data and records acquired from the seller or assignor when MCM purchased or was assigned the Account, which were incorporated into MCM's business records upon purchase or assignment, and (ii) data and records generated by MCM in connection with servicing the Account since the date the Account was purchased by or was assigned to MCM. 3. I am familiar with and trained on the manner and method by which MCM creates and maintains its business records pertaining to the Account, which consist of (i) data and documents acquired from the seller or assignor, and (ii) subsequent collection and/or servicing activities by MCM. The records are acquired or created, and are kept in the regular course of MCM's business. It was in the regular course of MCM's business for a person with knowledge of the subsequent collection and/or servicing activities recorded, and a business duty to report, to make the record or data compilation, or to transmit information thereof to be included in such record, or for such information to be posted in MCM's records by a computer or similar digital means. In the regular course of MCM's business, the record or compilation of the subsequent collection activities is made at or near the time of the act or event by MCM as a regular practice. 4. MCM's records show that Defendant(s) owed a balance of $2,909.38 as of 2025-12-12. 5. On or about 2024-10-29, Midland Credit Management, Inc became the successor in interest to this Account. 6. MCM's records show that: 1) the Account was opened on 2018-07-17; 2) the last payment posted to the Account on 2023-01-13; and 3) the Account was charged off on 2023-08-19. 7. If called to testify as a witness thereon, I could and would competently testify as to all the facts stated herein. LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct. JAN 05 2026 Date STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF STEARNS William Hebert Prahl Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on JAN 05 2026 by William Hebert Prahl. Julie A Kimmes Notary Public • Minnesota My Commission Expires 04/31/2026 Notary Public OK038