FTC Wins Big Against Housing Infomercial Scam
FTC Wins Big Against Housing Infomercial Scam
A judge has awarded the Federal Trade Commission $478 million in a judgment against three marketers of real estate informercials that were accused of defrauding nearly a million consumers.
The FTC had claimed the marketers duped consumers with get-rich-quick real estate claims. Almost all of the buyers of the $39.95 products from the infomercials lost money, according to the FTC. The products included “John Beck’s Free & Clear Real Estate System,” which boasted that it could show you how to purchase homes for “pennies on the dollar” during government sales.
The $478 million judgment is the largest judgment ever obtained by the FTC.
"This huge judgment serves notice to anyone thinking of using phony get-rich-quick schemes to defraud consumers," said Jeffrey Klurfeld, director of the western region of the FTC, in a statement.
The FTC has pursued several cases against marketers in recent months in aiming to crackdown on scams that target financially distressed consumers.
Source: “FTC Wins $478 Million Judgment Against Infomercial Scammers,” Reuters (Aug. 23, 2012)
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