Credit Terrorist or Twisted Genius?

I find the story about Craig Cunningham very intriguing. His debt collection story was featured in Better Off Deadbeat.

When credit was free flowing, he borrowed over $100,000 and invested in risky stocks and the sub prime mortgage industry. The greedy extension of a well planned credit card arbitrage strategy.

Of course, the recession hit, and now he’s in up to his eyeballs with bill collectors. Except, instead of paying them back, he sues them. And he’s actually quite successful at it; he’s earned settlements totaling more than $20,000.

He’s sues the debt collectors based on violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer protection laws. The debt collectors call him a “credit terrorist” since knows the game and teaches others how to bait the collectors. He’s actually a regular at Fatwallet, and has become somewhat of an expert on suing debt collectors. Here’s an example: Codename47 vs. National Credit Solutions.

I’m all for making money where opportunities present themselves, but I’m also a firm believer in paying back debt.

I’ll stick to making my money with things like the Chase Sapphire $100 Sign Up Bonus and the PerkStreet $50 Sign Up Bonus, which was just extended, in case you missed it the first time around!

What do you think? Credit terrorist or twisted genius?