FTC Returning $436,000 to Consumers Scammed in Non-Existent Money-Lending Scheme

Courts Consumer Finance Financial Crimes FTC Business Opportunity Rule

On February 17, the FTC announced that it is mailing checks to 2,031 consumers who lost money as part of a business opportunity scheme that cheated consumers out of more than $7 million. The compensation follows a 2013 complaint filed by the Commission focused on 20 individuals and eight companies who, according to the Commission’s allegations, “falsely claimed consumers would earn up to $3,000 per month by referring small businesses to the defendants to obtain an average loan or cash advance of $20,000, and that they could operate a profitable business from their home.”  The defendants were charged with engaging in unlawful conduct by: (i) falsely claiming consumers would earn substantial income; (ii) repeatedly calling consumers who told them not to call, often times using obscenities and threats, as well as calling numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry; and (iii) failing “to provide specific information to help consumers evaluate a business opportunity…and making earnings claims without substantiation,” in violation of the FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule.

The FTC obtained judgments and settlements in 2015 totaling over $7.3 million, and banned 18 defendants from similar telemarketing activities.