New York’s attorney general is moving to shut down two Buffalo-area debt collections agencies, saying they illegally used threats and other abusive tactics to pressure consumers to pay.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Thursday that his office and the Federal Trade Commission have filed joint lawsuits against Four Star Resolution LLC and Vantage Point Services LLC.

Schneiderman said in a news release that the two debt collection firms and related businesses illegally used abusive language and threatened people with arrest and jail time to collect more than $45 million in supposed debts.

A phone listing for Vantage Point Services was not working Thursday and a phone message left for Four Star Resolution was unreturned.

The complaints were filed in federal court in Buffalo.

(AP)