FTC Sending Refund Checks to Victims of Two Scams

The Federal Trade Commission is issuing a second round of checks to victims of two different scams, a business directory scam and a debt relief scam.

Business Directory Scheme

Non-profits and businesses lost money in a scheme that tricked them into paying to be listed in the “Fair Business Guide.”

The FTC slammed a Slovakia-based company, Construct Data Publishers, along with its executives, for tricking American businesses and non-profits into signing up for the scheme.

The company reportedly told victims they had pre-existing relationships with the business. They also hid a statement in fine print saying that the organizations that signed up with the company agreed to pay $1,717 annually for a company listing on their website.

The scheme made millions from U.S. companies as well as from organizations overseas, according to the investigation mounted by the FTC.

The FTC will send two rounds of checks to organizations duped by this scheme and businesses should expect to get back nearly a third of the money they lost to the scam.

According to the FTC, the first round of checks was issued in March of this year. The FTC sent 974 checks totaling $535,000 in March; however, money remained in the fund to compensate those victimized by the scam.

A second round of 738 checks totaling more than $177,000 will be sent by the FTC to organizations affected by the business directory scheme. Businesses and non-profits hit by the scam should expect to get a second check averaging $594.37.

Questions regarding the business directory scam refund checks can be directed to the refund administrator at 877-657-8808.

Debt Relief Scam

Victims of a mortgage and debt relief scam will receive a second round of checks from the FTC. The agency will be mailing 1,191 checks totaling more than $483,000. Those who get two checks will recover about 72 percent of their total loss.

Expense Management America, according to the FTC investigation, charged homeowners $750 a month for assistance, but the company did little to help the homeowners who signed up. Under the scam, the company would target those struggling with mortgage, credit card debt, student loans, car payments, or a bad credit score.

They would charge those who signed up a fee totaling $2,20o to $10,000 and claimed that they would use their connections to help reduce customers’ payments. The company failed to produce any results, according to the FTC, and victims lost even more money, compounding their debt problem.

In 2012, the FTC hit this and similar schemes hard — “With many homeowners still struggling to hold onto their homes, the FTC takes a hard line against con artists who are seeking their next victim,” said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission at the time.

Victims initially received checks sent in April of 2016. The FTC sent 1,630 checks totaling nearly $1.87 million to mortgage holders and other debtors who lost money in the illegal telemarketing operation. The amount of the check was based on the money each victim lost to the scam.

Questions regarding this case, can be directed to the refund administrator at 844-239-8891.

The FTC asks check recipients to cash checks within 60 days of receipt.