AUGUSTA (AP) – The state has filed a lawsuit accusing a debt collector in New York of using threats, harassment and other illegal practices when attempting to collect money from Maine consumers, officials said Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Kennebec County Superior Court, asks that Lenahan Law Offices of Buffalo, N.Y., be barred from debt collecting in Maine and ordered to pay up to $10,000 for each violation.

The lawsuit accuses Lenahan employees of threatening to have debtors arrested or have their property seized when trying to collect credit card debts. The state claims that those actions violate Maine’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive practices by debt collectors.