FTC Sending Refund Checks for Internet Teaching Program Scam

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it will send nearly $1 million in checks to people who fell for a business coaching scheme that said it would help them start internet companies.

Approximately 3,600 checks will be sent to those who were duped by the internet teaching program advertised by the Internet Teaching and Training Specialists LLC.

According to the FTC, the Internet Teaching and Training Specialists told customers that they would be able to launch online businesses after taking their courses offered through Guidance Interactive.

However, the internet teaching program run by Internet Teaching and Training Specialists was hit with allegations of deceptive marketing and false promises in an FCC lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Internet Teaching and Training Specialists required customers to submit financial information in order to determine if they “qualified” for additional Guidance Interactive programs.

The FTC reports that consumers who fell for the scheme did not end up with a great internet business, but in debt instead.

“Most consumers who purchased the Business Coaching Program did not develop a successful online business as ITT promised, earned little or no money, and ended up heavily in debt,” alleged the FTC lawsuit against the company. “Thousands of purchasers have lost millions of dollars as a result of ITT’s deceptive telemarketing scheme.”

Internet Teaching and Training Specialists offered online business coaching services through a myriad of partner companies.

“ITT does not itself provide products or services to consumers,” states the FTC lawsuit. “Instead, when it began doing business, it partnered with a company called Lift International, LLC, also doing business as Guidance Interactive (‘Guidance’). Under this arrangement, ITT sold the Business Coaching Program that Guidance (and, thereafter, Guidance’s successor entity, Learning Systems, LLC) fulfilled. ITT is one of several sales floors that sold the Business Coaching Program fulfilled by Guidance.”

The FTC hit Guidance Interactive with a different lawsuit over their allegedly deceptive telemarketing practices in June 2017.

According to the FTC lawsuit, Internet Teaching and Training Specialists told customers they would make up to “$379/Day From Home!” Once customers paid to sign up for one of the programs, “Cash From Home” they were instructed to call a telemarketer who led them on an hour or longer telemarketing call designed to make them buy even more internet teaching programs as well as to solicit personal financial information.

The FTC lawsuit alleged that the company used this information to bilk as much money as possible out of customers for fake internet teaching programs.

Under the scheme, Internet Teaching and Training Specialists would reportedly charge several thousands of dollars for each course and even more than $15,000 for what it called the “Business Coaching Program.”

These courses were sold via the telemarketing calls and the telemarketing scripts instructing the callers to ferret out financial information from customers in order to charge them the maximum amount possible for the internet teaching program.

In addition to the 3,633 checks that will be mailed to those who fell for the Internet Teaching and Training Specialists online business coaching scheme, the company has agreed to stop selling internet business coaching services.

UPDATE: February 2019, the FTC mailed out a second round of checks totaling more than $142,000 to victims of Internet Teaching and Training Specialists.