The FTC and its partners take energetic measures throughout the country against deceptive income schemes |Hispanic PR Wire

As scammers take advantage of pandemic fears, the FTC and its law enforcement partners are cracking down on deceptive income schemes across the country. FTC data from new cases highlights the wide scope of scams that make false promises of big revenue

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 19 federal, state and local law enforcement partners today announced a nationwide crackdown on scams that target consumers with false promises of income and financial independence that have no basis in reality. The impact of these scams has intensified as scammers take advantage of the pandemic and financial crisis caused by COVID-19.

The so-called Operation Income Illusion includes more than 50 lawsuits against operators of job and work-from-home scams, pyramid schemes, investment scams, bogus training courses and other schemes that can end up costing consumers thousands of dollars. Dollars.

According to a new analysis of FTC complaint data, income scams have a massive effect on consumers. Consumers have reported to the FTC that they lost more than $610 million to these scams since 2016, with recorded losses of more than $150 million in the first nine months of 2020. Through the income scams the FTC has pursued through its actions In this raid, consumers have collectively been defrauded of more than $1 billion.

“Scammers are taking advantage of unemployment and the anxiety caused by the pandemic and making false promises of great income working from home,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "If someone promises you guaranteed income, but then asks you to make a payment, please report it to the FTC immediately so we can put an end to this type of scam."

In addition to the ten cases already disclosed, the FTC is filing four new court cases as part of Operation Income Illusion, in addition to announcing a new settlement in a previously filed case. In these cases, the FTC asks the Court to stop the operations of deceptive schemes and recover money from affected consumers. Other agencies that reported actions as part of the raids include the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas, state agencies in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, and the Maricopa County District Attorney's Office in Arizona.

Some of the schemes investigated in Operation Income Illusion had a notable impact on one or more specific groups: students, military families, people on limited fixed incomes, immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, deaf and disabled communities hearing and older adults. A new analysis examines which groups of consumers were most likely to be affected by certain income scam actions investigated by the FTC.

FTC announces four new cases and a new settlement against income scammers

Digital Income System: On November 17, 2020, a federal court granted the FTC's motion for a temporary restraining order against Digital Income System, Inc. and five other defendants. The FTC's complaint alleges that the Florida-based scam falsely promised consumers that by selling memberships in the defendants' programs, consumers would likely earn large sums of money. For example, on the website they stated: “Consumers will earn between $500 and $12,500 per sale” and “Every time one of our professionals closes a sale on your behalf, we'll send a hefty commission check directly to your doorstep.” The defendants allegedly charged consumers a substantial amount of money, ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. However, the complaint states that the vast majority of consumers who paid the defendants never made any substantial income and, in fact, many consumers made nothing. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated both FTC regulations and the Business Opportunity Rule. The Commission's vote to authorize staff to file suit against Digital Income System, Inc., Derek Jones Foley, William Foley, Christopher Brandon Frye, Jennifer Hedrick, and Kaitlyn Scott was 5-0. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Moda Latina: The FTC's lawsuit alleges the company specifically targets Latina consumers in Spanish-language television ads with false promises of earnings working from home. The defendants allegedly dupe consumers into buying a work-at-home business with the false promise that consumers will make "great profits" by reselling luxury goods like name-brand perfumes. The misrepresentations alleged in the lawsuit include statements such as “Do you want to own your own business and earn up to a thousand dollars a week?” and “Crisis? What crisis? I forgot about her since I started selling with Perfume Box. It changed my life and my financial situation completely.” The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants' telemarketers routinely threaten consumers in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). According to the FTC complaint, from March 2017 to August 2020 the defendants defrauded more than $7 million from consumers who purchased their work-from-home opportunities, but never received the promised profits. The Commission's vote to authorize staff to file a lawsuit against Moda Latina BZ Inc., Esther Virginia Fernandez Aguirre, and Marco Cesar Zarate Quíroz was 5-0. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

RagingBull.com: On December 8, 2020, a federal court granted the FTC's motion for a temporary restraining order against RagingBull.com, LLC and his co-defendants. The FTC's complaint alleges that the defendants fraudulently marketed investment-related services that they claimed would allow consumers to make consistent profits and beat the market. Instead, the FTC alleges that consumers, many of them retirees, seniors and immigrants, have lost at least $137 million to the scam in the past three years alone. The defendants claimed in their depositions that consumers do not need a lot of time, money or expertise, and that the global coronavirus pandemic represents a good time to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to learn their secret business techniques, claiming in an announcement that the pandemic “It could be the most exciting opportunity in decades!” The defendants also made claims such as “Learn how you can DOUBLE or TRIPLE your account in a week!” The Commission's vote to authorize staff to file a complaint against RagingBull.com, LLC; Jeffrey M. Bishop; Jason Bond (formerly known as Jason P. Kowalik); Kyle W. Dennis; Sherwood Ventures, LLC; Jason Bond, LLC; MFA Holdings Corp.; Winston Research, Inc. and Winston Corp. was 5-0. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The FTC thanks the New Hampshire Office of Securities Regulation and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for their assistance in this matter.

Randon Morris: On December 1, 2020, a federal court granted the FTC's motion for a temporary restraining order against Randon Morris and four companies it controls for perpetrating a fraud scheme telemarketing. The FTC alleges that the defendants initiated millions of robocalls across the country to promote bogus work-at-home business opportunity programs. The defendants tricked consumers into buying these programs with false promises that they could earn hundreds of dollars a day and claimed that they were affiliated with Amazon.com, which was not true. They also invoked the coronavirus pandemic in robocall messages to appeal to consumers who are concerned about working outside of their homes during this national public health crisis. The order ends the defendants' deceptive sales practices, freezes their assets and appoints a receiver over the companies. The Commission's vote to authorize the filing of a lawsuit against Morris; National Web Design, LLC; B2B Website Design, LLC; Amazon Affiliate Program, LLC and R&C Consultation, LLC went 5-0. The case was filed in the US District Court for the District of Utah. The FTC thanks the Utah Attorney General's Office, the US Marshals Service, and the Orem, Utah Police Department for their assistance in this matter.

8 Figure Dream Lifestyle: The ten defendants in this 2019 case, who the FTC says specifically misled seniors by selling bogus money-making opportunities, have reached a settlement agreement with the FTC for the charges against him. Under the terms of two stipulated final orders, the defendants are prohibited from selling money-making methods and business training programs, and nine of the defendants are prohibited from using robocalls for most purposes, including marketing and advertising. . In addition, three of the defendants are prohibited from selling investment opportunities. The stipulated final orders impose monetary judgments totaling more than $32 million, which are partially stayed due to the defendants' inability to pay. The defendants have turned over assets totaling more than $1.25 million to the Commission, and if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition, the judgments will be payable in full immediately. The Commission's vote to authorize the settlement agreement with 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle, LLC; JL Net Bargains, Inc.; Kappy Enterprises, LLC; Millionaire Mind Enterprises, LLC; Spirit Consulting Group, Inc.; John A Bain; Alex Dee; Brian M. Kaplan and Jerrold S. Maurer went 3-0-2. According to records, Commissioners Christine S. Wilson and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter did not participate. The Commission vote to authorize the settlement agreement with OEA LLC was 5-0. The stipulated final orders were entered by the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

New educational materials to help consumers spot and avoid income-based scams

In addition to the legal actions, the FTC has published updated information for consumers about various types of income-based scams.

All of these educational materials are available in English and Spanish at consumer.ftc.gov. As part of Operation Income Illusion, the CFTC and state authorities in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin, and the Office of the Fresno County District Attorney in California have joined the FTC's community outreach efforts by disseminating educational materials for consumers in their local communities.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when there is “reason to believe” that the defendants named in the complaint are violating or about to violate the law and when the Commission believes that the procedure it is in the public interest. Final injunction/agreement orders become law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer issues and report scams, fraud, or poor business practices online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, get consumer alerts, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

HIGHLIGHT PRESS RELEASE: FCT and other law enforcement colleagues announce aggressive new crackdown on illegal robocalls

CONTACT INFORMATION CONTACT FOR CONSUMERS: FTC Consumer Response Center

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SOURCEFederal Trade Commission