U.S. Freezes Assets Of Work-At-Home Web Firms Promising Thousands

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

Reuters

4:22 p.m. CST, February 24, 2014

(Reuters) - A U.S. district court in Utah has frozen the assets of several Internet business coaches accused of lying to customers about their potential earnings after signing up for the services, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday.

The companies are Essent Media LLC, Net Training LLC, YES International, Coaching Department, and Apply Knowledge, the FTC said in a statement. The commission, which voted 4-0 to sue the Utah-based defendants, filed a lawsuit against them this month.

"This case halts a massive scam that bilked consumers out of millions for useless work-at-home kits and business coaching services," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The defendants duped consumers into thinking they could earn thousands working from home."

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The commission said the companies lured customers by offering a "proven and guaranteed home job to make $379 a day from home." But consumers earned little or no money and ended up heavily in debt, the FTC said.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-ftc-lawsuit-internetcoaches-20140224,0,419753.story

[Squinch]

1. Like roaches, thousands more will take their place.

[Nye Bevan]

2. But... but... my sister-in-law's friend *really* makes $6000 a month posting links on the internet!

Really, really really!

[DJ13]

3. I hope those arent blue links

[bvar22]

6. I hear there is a market for that,

but you have to know the right people.

[Samantha]

10. I see Google ads here all the time offering work at home posting links on the Internet

Is that a scam as well? I have wondered about that particularly since it has Google's name attached.

Sam

[loudsue]

4. Now if someone would take on the time share racket, and all the "time share management"

companies, I'd start believing there was a God.

[bvar22]

7. ... and from there to the Wall Street Banks.

This scam is peanuts to what THOSE guys are getting away with,
but at least they caught somebody.

[loudsue]

8. Wall Street is the worst of all. But they aren't exactly flying under the radar. Time Share

corruption is so far out of control, I don't know if they'll ever be able to sort it all out.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. I thought the time-share scams were all 30 years ago. Apparently not. nt

[TxDemChem]

12. I get a call from them almost every day.

Got one today actually. Drives me nuts!

[loudsue]

20. I got rid of my time share 5 years ago, and they STILL call. I wish it was once a day...

it's 3 or 4 times a day! Plus, I get mail three times a week. I gave my time share to a family member who wanted it, even though I warned them what a mess it was. He's trying to get out of it now, and I feel awful. The "management companies" are so far removed from the time share properties....they are an extortion racket. They jack up the "assessments" and "dues" every year, and then leave the properties in poor order.

The lawmakers in washington are too busy trying to screw kids out of their breakfast money to worry about some good capitalist corporation screwing everyone.

[TxDemChem]

21. That is terrible! I hope your family member

can get rid of it without issues. We've never even had a time share. I heard some people are selling them on eBay for 1 cent.

[Egalitarian Thug]

18. Bigger than ever. Can you believe it? n/t

[Thor_MN]

5. Hopefully this squelches some of assholes who call & tell me that it is my second and final notice

I WISH it was the final time. I don't need calls from credit card scams.

[frylock]

9. i've seen their signs at the foot of freeway offramps..

usually some hand written sign that's barely legible proclaiming that you can make thousands of dollars a day working out of the home. I always wonder who is responding to these, because if I were making thousands a day of dollars working out of the home, I could surely afford to pay to have some signage done up professionally.

[TxDemChem]

13. Hubby's cousin called him one day a couple of years ago

Bragging that he'd be making 6 figures. Said cousin has no skills other than driving a forklift. I hope he didn't pay any money for that "job."

[JimDandy]

16. Utah allowed those businesses and their signs to stay

around for decades, even with all the complaints. Pathetic! And the pyramid scheme businesses there...ugh, don't get me started.

[gtar100]

14. Modern day cannibals.

Too many Americans love America but not the people... just the ability to use them.

[JimDandy]

15. Utah did nothing to stop these scammers for decades.

It took the Feds to step in and do it. No surprise Utah is the scam capital of the U.S.

[Egalitarian Thug]

19. I'll call that into question. As long as FL & TX are still states, I need to see

proof that Utah is the scam capital of the U.S.

[Stainless]

17. Yup, Urine Utah!

Notice that this illegal activity was aided and abetted by the lax business rules and hands-off attitude that are enacted and encouraged by the Republican/Mormon dominated legislature of the great state of Utah. As if that isn't bad enough, you should see what the self-serving SOB's are up to in the current legislative session regarding the relocation of the State Prison. Many state legislators stand to make fistfuls of dollars from this scandalous rip-off while forcing the taxpayers to pay for all of it.