They may have bought the debt. They should provide to you proof of the debt and their owning it. Demand, in writing, they provide this to you.

You may be sued in civil court. Their threatening criminal action is probably illegal and gives you a case against them.

Unless they dismiss the case, I would file an answer or otherwise work this out with the opposing party.

You should consult with attorneys to determine who you should hire to do the demand letter. Use the search feature at the top of the website page...

You may have a case. It may not be a large enough expected recovery for an attorney to handle, but consulting with several attorneys may give you...

The Court papers would need to be reviewed by a litigation attorney.

They may file for small claims. The cost for small claims filings is added to winning judgments, usually. If they have many of these debts, they...

Yes, if you can discover assets/accounts that are not exempt.

Upon proper proof, the employer who failed to do a lawful wage garnishment would be responsible for what should have been garnished.

It depends on what the contract and lawsuit stated.