La Pura Class Action Alleges Free Trial Scam

A California consumer is claiming La Pura “free trial” beauty products are gateways to a massive scheme that cheats victims out of hundreds of dollars each.

In her La Pura class action, plaintiff LeAnne Tan alleges that numerous individuals and entities are conspiring to make ineffective wrinkle creams and tout “free trials” through various scams — and then use the responding consumers’ card information to withdraw far more than the few dollars they agreed to pay for shipping.

In early January, Tan received a text message that looked like it was from Amazon.com, claiming she would receive a free gift if she completed an online survey. She reportedly followed the link to the survey, then clicked on another link to enter payment information for the $4.94 shipping fee she agreed to pay for the “free gift,” a La Pura skin care product.

According to Tan, the confirmation email contained a couple of red flags. First, two additional products had been tacked onto her order. Second, it said her credit card would show three separate charges from three similarly named companies. When she contacted customer service to remove the extra items from her order and confirm that she was only going to be charged the amount she had agreed to pay, she got no response.

Later that month, the defendants allegedly charged Tan’s credit card for a subscription with two payments totaling $172.83. She demanded a full refund of the unauthorized charges, but reportedly received only a fraction of her money back.

Her lawsuit details the methodology of the La Pura scheme, which relies partly on the use of hundreds of websites. Each has at least two versions: a “landing page” for consumers, with minimal information displayed, and a “false front,” with full disclosure to pass banks’ muster.

They lure people to their landing pages through fake texts, such as the one Tan received, or by using clickbait in online ads with fake celebrity endorsements, according to the filing. The scam begins once card information is submitted.

The 76 individuals and entities named in the La Pura class action are broken down into three categories:

The La Pura defendants — This is a long list of individuals and entities responsible for the manufacture of La Pura products and the hundreds of landing pages through which they are sold online.

The Quick Box defendants — Two entities and three individuals doing business under the name QuickBox Fulfillment, which purports to be a shipping company but also processes returns (with the accompanying complaints) and provides marketing materials as well as “FDA-compliant” custom labeling for La Pura. “They knew that the fraud was occurring, and intentionally continued to aid and support La Pura in their fraud despite this knowledge,” the plaintiff states.

The Konnektive defendants — The lawsuit names four entities and two individuals that sell customer relationship management software under the brand name Konnektiveas defendants. The lawsuit alleges Konnektive’s “load balancing” capabilities facilitates the alleged bank fraud. According to Plaintiff, the software rotates the merchant accounts used to bill customers “to prevent these merchant accounts from being canceled — and to prevent fraud from being discovered by financial institutions.” Konnective denies the allegations and claims made in the lawsuit.

The La Pura class action details a history of participation in other “free trial” schemes by many of the named individual defendants. Plaintiff’s complaint draws clear connections among members of each defendant group, refuting previous claims that each entity knows nothing of the others’ activities.

“The corporate structure is a sham designed to avoid paying taxes, frustrate creditors, avoid document discovery requests, and hide assets,” the plaintiff maintains.

Tan is seeking certification of a national and a California Class of consumers who were billed for La Pura products after signing up for a free trial. She cites hundreds of complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau against the involved defendants and related to her allegations.

On behalf of herself and all proposed Class Members, she is claiming civil conspiracy; federal bank, mail and wire fraud; violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act (plus two FTC regulations), the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, federal law governing negative option marketing online, and “various state consumer laws.”

Additionally, on behalf of the proposed California Class Members, she is claiming violations of the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, Sherman Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law, and Automatic Renewal Law.

The plaintiff is seeking an order stopping the defendants’ alleged illegal practices; economic, monetary, consequential, compensatory, statutory and punitive damages, and court costs.

Have you been a victim of a free trial scam? Tell us your experience in the comments section below.

Tan is represented by Kevin Kneupper of Kneupper & Covey PC.

The La Pura Class Action is LeAnne Tan, et al. v. Quick Box LLC, et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-01082, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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